Legislative Assembly 12011 26 May 1995 FRIDAY, 26 MAY 1995 implementation of the Goss Government's $150m Jobs Plan. Despite strong jobs growth and forecasts of a fall in unemployment to around 7.7 per cent by June next year, there are those within the labour market who need Mr SPEAKER (Hon. J. Fouras, Ashgrove) special assistance. The long-term read prayers and took the chair at 10 a.m. unemployed, women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with PETITIONS disabilities are among those disadvantaged groups who face extra hurdles in gaining The Clerk announced the receipt of the employment. The Goss Government's $150m following petitions— Jobs Plan is providing these people with the added assistance they need to build a better Police Staffing, Gold Coast; Palm future. Beach Police Station With the funds provided from an increase From Mrs Gamin (1,025 signatories) in the tobacco franchise fee, the $150m Jobs praying that action be taken to boost police Plan has provided assistance to more than numbers in southern areas of the Gold Coast 80,000 Queenslanders to 31 March. and that a police station be built at Palm Specifically, 16,700 people had been placed Beach. in jobs, almost 39,000 people had been placed in training, and the remainder had received other assistance, including the Turbot, Edward and Ann Streets, provision of business advice. I am able to Park provide for members' information the details of From Mr J. N. Goss (641 signatories) the seven programs of the Jobs Plan and the praying for action to be taken to create a park results achieved by each of these programs. Rather than take up the valuable time of the in the inner City of Brisbane on vacant land House, I seek leave to have these details bounded by Turbot, Edward and Ann Streets. incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. Apprenticeship Training Mr Speaker, one of our greatest challenges is From Mr J. H. Sullivan (412 to ensure that all groups within the community signatories) praying that legislation be benefit from the economic and social advances amended to enable apprenticeship training to Queensland continues to make. be available to persons employed on a part- The $150 million Jobs Plan is helping to ensure time basis. that all Queenslanders, whatever their geographic, economic, educational or cultural Petitions received. circumstances, can build a better future for themselves and their families. The $150 Million Jobs Plan assisted more PAPERS than 80,000 Queensland to March 31, 1995 The following papers were laid on the through: table— payroll tax incentives (a) Minister for Primary Industries increases in the payroll tax threshold and (Mr Casey)— extension of a rebate to employers who take on long-term unemployed people; Cane Protection and Productivity $8 million Community Jobs Plan Boards—Annual Reports for year ending 31 December 1994 to assist 5,000 people, particularly mature- aged long-term jobseekers, through (b) Minister for Justice and Attorney–General community-based activities such as and Minister for the Arts (Mr Wells)— interest-free loans for unemployed people Mirani By-Election 1994 Ballot Survey— to start their own business; grants to Report on Informal and Optional community groups for training and job Preferential Voting placement projects and the development of an additional five community-owned and five more enterprise centres to foster MINISTERIAL STATEMENT the development of small business and job creation; Jobs Plan $15.2 million Safe Bikeways Program Hon. M. J. FOLEY (Yeronga—Minister to provide a network of bicycle paths for Employment, Training and Industrial throughout Queensland directly creating Relations) (10.03 a.m.), by leave: I wish to 330 jobs and more indirect jobs; inform the House of progress on 26 May 1995 12012 Legislative Assembly $5 million Jobs for the Environment Conservation Corps and the appointment 600 training positions for long-term of 20 extra youth employment consultants unemployed people and 200 other jobs across the state to help place young improving national park facilities; people in jobs and training; $7 million Youth Jobs Plan $19 million Jobs Through TAFE to assist 1,700 young people through to employ 500 TAFE tutors, creating extra training opportunities and jobs in 3,100 extra student places and appoint the private and public sector, including job placement officers in every college to 200 extra subsidised apprenticeships help graduates find work; and traineeships in public sector agencies; awarding of public housing $60 million schools refurbishment contracts to group training companies to to spend $60 million over two years fixing allow them to employ apprentices; 140 Queensland's schools, creating 1,200 jobs training positions in an expanded Youth for unemployed people. 150 MILLION JOBS PLAN—DETAILS OF EMPLOYMENT BY PROGRAM ELEMENT SINCE JOBS PLAN IMPLEMENTATION TO Program New Jobs People Placed People Placed People Receiving Total Assisted Element Created into Jobs into Training Other Assistance (Target) (Target) (Target) (Target) (Target) Payroll Tax not available not available not available not available not available Incentives Plan Youth Jobs Plan 1,262 3,288 3,729 2,839 8,845 Community Jobs Plan 728 3,840 8,419 13,090 23,046 Jobs Through TAFE 1,948 4,505 26,193 14,402 47,048 School Refurbishment 566 - - - 566 Safe Bikeways 414 - - - 414 Jobs for the Environment 160 - 555 - 715 Totals 5,078 11,633 38,896 30,331 80,634 (3,218) (7,836) (13,583) (11,271) (32,209) 31 DECEMBER 1994NB: Because a client may receive multiple forms of assistance and therefore be listed in both a job column and training column, the sum of the columns may exceed the number of persons Mr FOLEY: One of our greatest QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE challenges is to ensure that all groups within Koala Coast Protection Plan the community benefit from the economic and Mrs SHELDON (10.08 a.m.): I refer the social advances Queensland continues to Premier to the five-year $38m Koala Coast make. The $150m Jobs Plan is helping to Protection Plan, composed of programs for ensure that all Queenslanders, whatever their koala habitat acquisition, koala research, geographic, economic, educational or cultural koala visitor infrastructure and the Community circumstances, can build a better future for Facilities Program. I refer also to the fact that themselves and their families. some $5m or almost 70 per cent of the Mrs SHELDON having given notice of a available funds for 1995-96 have already motion— been distributed—not to protect the Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the endangered koalas but to protect endangered next member, I suggest to the Deputy Leader ALP members threatened by a roadway that of the Coalition that that motion was miles too the Government promised not to build. I ask: long. The staff at the table and I will look at it. given this ration of a mere 30 per cent of Giving notice of a motion is not the time to funding for koalas, which will apparently slip debate an issue. even further as a share of the plan's funds, will the Premier now admit that this is pork- Mrs SHELDON: I rise to a point of barrelling of the most cynical sort? order. Mr W. K. GOSS: No. So the Deputy Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will Leader of the Coalition is fairly readily resume her seat. There is no point of order. dispensed with, but it gives me an opportunity Legislative Assembly 12013 26 May 1995 to make a couple of points. Until this side; there are now some 39 beds in that Government examined this issue, that koala region. Since that time, throughout population was facing slow but sure extinction Queensland, the number of intensive care because of the policy failure of previous beds has risen from 140 to 155. This Governments. The facts are that that koala Government has acknowledged that the population is under threat and would have demand for intensive care beds has been been killed off by the failure of previous increasing and that our population is growing conservative Governments to plan or to and ageing. In fact, as has been outlined by protect that population. By allowing the Premier and myself on many occasions, subdivisions and developments to go ahead we now treat an extra 3,000 people a week in through there, the koala population is being our hospitals—an extra 140,000 or 150,000 a slowly but surely killed. It is being killed by the year compared with the number in 1989. dogs and cars of residents of the area. Every When I first became Minister, I visited time these people engage in the sick activity hospitals as a priority. A priority of mine was to of getting a snap-frozen koala from their talk to specialists and "intensivists"—those freezer and bringing it along to use for political people in front-line agencies within hospitals. I purposes, I will point out that that koala has asked for an assessment of the needs in the been killed by a dog or a car that belongs to a intensive care sector, particularly high current resident who has been allowed to dependency. After those discussions with settle or develop there. Those are the facts. "intensivists", my department and This Government has decided that, in the administrators within the hospital, I can interests of preserving and protecting that announce today the establishment of two 10- koala population, there should be—and there bed intensive care step down units or, as will be—a comprehensive koala protection members would know them, high dependency plan. Crucial to that policy is the acquisition of units, at both the Royal Brisbane Hospital and key koala habitat.