Questions without Notice 13 March 1986 ASSEMBLY 167 Thursday, 13 March 1986 The SPEAKER (the Hon. C. T. Edmunds) took the chair at 10.35 a.m. and read the prayer. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE TRAVEL ENTITLEMENTS Mr PESCOTT (Bennettswood)-I refer the Premier to his approval for official overseas travel last November of the Victorian Tourism Commission's senior project development consultant, Mr David Faggetter, and ask: why did the Premier approve of Mr Faggetter using a free airline ticket on that trip, given the Premier's own standards on overseas travel, and what does he intend to do about information provided to his department that unauthorized expenditure on this trip may have exceeded $40001 Mr CAIN (Premier)-The letter to which the honourable member refers has come to my notice and it has also come to the notice of the Deputy Premier, the Minister responsible, and it is presently under consideration by him. I am aware of the intense interest that has been taken by the honourable member in these matters and I just hope that when he is looking into them he takes some time to compare the sets of guidelines and requirements that presently exist with those that existed under the previous Government, because we have imposed standards on members of Parliament and on public office holders who claim travel and other expenses from the public purse. That has not been easy after the rorts that went on under the previous Government. It has been very difficult indeed, as honourable members would appreciate, and, although I will not cite instances chapter and verse today, I could cite a whole range of rorts, such as Parliamentary committees which, under the previous Government, contrived trips. There was a Parliamentary committee looking at a proposed Bill of Rights for Victoria and it wanted to go to the United Kingdom via Uganda when Idi Amin was in full flight. There was an honourable member four or five years ago who sought to convert-he may have done it, I do not know-his Parliamentary travel entitlement to take a trip to Bali for a holiday. If members of the Opposition want me to cite such instances chapter and verse, I will do so, but those instances I have referred to created the climate and the environment that this Government inherited so far as travel is concerned. The standards the Government has imposed have upset and, I suppose, will continue to upset the nest of "perk" merchants who are waiting to prey on the public purse by virtue of travel. I note that the honourable member for Bennettswood nods in assent. I shall do all I can to stop those people and will provide every facility to stop them. I do not say the Government is perfect yet, but it is much closer to being perfect than the Opposition was when it was in government. We are trying to impose standards­ something which the Opposition did not do. Mr Ramsay interjected. Mr CAIN-In answer to the interjection of the honourable member for Balwyn, I say we are trying to correct the wrongs of a long period when persons on the public pay-roll chose to use the system to try to gain personal benefit of considerable magnitude. Members of the Government will try to stop that happening. The matter to which the honourable member referred is under consideration by the responsible Minister. I understand he has already communicated with the department 168 ASSEMBLY 13 March 1986 Questions without Notice about the matter, and appropriate action will be taken if matters are found to have occurred that ought not to have occurred. LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING Mr STEGGALL (Swan Hill)-In view of the fact that the Government claims its social justice policy is the reason for the boundary restructure of local government, will the Minister for Local Government inform the House which areas of the Government's social justice policy could not be implemented under existing local government boundaries? Mr SIMMONDS (Minister for Local Government)-The honourable member discloses a lack of knowledge of the Government's social justice strategy, a lack of knowledge about the thrust of the local government restructure that is currently being conducted and the climate of the activities of the Local Government Commission. The social justice strategy is a wide-ranging strategy designed to assist the under-privileged citizens of Victoria. As a result of the economic recovery that has occurred in Victoria, the Government is in a position to develop a wider range of options in addressing the problem. Local government is an important and integral part of the approach to that problem. The purpose of restructuring local government is to ensure that it has full participation in the Government's program and that the resources oflocal government are adequately and efficiently organized to play a major role in the delivery of services in areas in which the local government system is most able to deliver, which is in local areas. The importance of the restructure is related to reorganization of the mechanisms of local government, which have not been addressed in the past 120 years or so. I do not want to pre-empt debate later in the day, but I thank the honourable member for the question as it raised the issue of the Government's approach to social justice in the proper context. PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT Mr SHELL (Geelong)-Will the Treasurer inform the House of the current trends in private sector employment in Victoria? Mr JOLLY (Treasurer)-As you would be aware, Mr Speaker, the Government's long­ term economic strategy has been directed towards creating a favourable environment not only for growth of employment in the private sector but also for growth in private investment. On both counts the Victorian economy is performing remarkably well. Statistics released by the Australian Statistician indicate that in the quarter from June 1985 to September 1985 there was an increase in private sector employment of wage and salary earners of 17 500, which is 1· 7 per cent. Across the rest of Australia, partly because of the poor performance of Queensland, employment declined by 8700 or 0·2 per cent. Therefore, in the last quarter Victoria experienced an increase of 17 500 private sector wage and salary earners compared with a decrease of 8700 in the rest of Australia. When one considers the period from the September quarter 1984 to the September quarter 1985, one recognizes that the performance was even more remarkable in Victoria. It highlights the Government's success in stimulating growth in the Victorian economy. The increase during that period in Victoria was 7·5 per cent of private sector wage and salary earnings. That margin of growth had not previously been experienced in Victoria, and it compares with an increase of 3·5 per cent for the rest of Australia. There is no doubt that the Government's economic policy and long-term economic strategy is stimulating private sector employment and private investment growth in Victoria, and that is why we are experiencing an outstanding economic performance. Questions without Notice 13 March 1986 ASSEMBLY 169 LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LTD Mr GUDE (Hawthorn)-I refer the Minister for Employment and Industrial Affairs to the dramatic split between the Government and Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Ltd, in which the Minister yesterday threatened the Leighton company with black-listing because it had done a deal with the Builders Labourers Federation. Honourable members interjecting. Mr GUDE-I ask the Minister: does that mean the Government will also put its rhetoric into action and black-list the partnership arrangement between Leighton Holdings Ltd and The Met in the Kowloon-Canton railway contract in Hong Kong and force The Met to withdraw from that international arrangement? Mr CRABB (Minister for Employment and Industrial Affairs)-I am confused about the viewpoint from which the honourable member has asked the question. I am also confused about the view put forward by the Leader of the National Party. I should have thought all honourable members would support the Government in its present endeavours. Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd made an offer to the builders labourers on its building sites as of yesterday which involves the payment of the 3·8 per cent national wage increase at the end of projects on which they are currently engaged. The company representatives assure me that those jobs will all take at least twelve months to complete. Fortunately, the Builders Labourers Federation will be deregistered long before that. The difference between the offer of the company and the Master Builders Association of Victoria appears to be one of semantics. However, it appears that the semantics have been sufficient for the federation to accept the offer. The reason why the offer has been accepted is that Norm Gallagher has recognized the reality that builders labourers are returning to work on site after site in Victoria, and I am pleased that they are doing so. In regard to the code of conduct, I wrote a letter to the company this morning indicating that, if it pays the 3·8 per cent national wage increase to builders labourers prior to their being entitled to it, by virtue of belonging to a union that has given undertakings to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the company will be in breach of the code of conduct and will be subject to the sanctions that apply. LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING Mr STEGGALL (Swan Hill)-Can the Minister for Local Government inform the House who will bear the cost of delivering human services at the local government level? Will they be funded from rate revenue or by State Government funding? Ifhuman services are to be funded by the Government, will it be 100 per cent funding? Mr SIMMONDS (Minister for Local Government)-The range of human services currently delivered by local government through the variobs Ministries and departments is extensive.