 |
Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Appropriation (Parliament) Bill; Appropriation Bill; Estimates C |
![]() |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Aug 10 2005 |
| Other Speeches >> |
Mr LAWLOR (Southport- ALP) (4.51 pm):
I did not participate in the hearing of Estimates Committee C. However, I support the report of the committee, which examined the proposed expenditure for the Department of Employment and Training, the Department of Industrial Relations and the Department of Education and the Arts. The committee considered the estimates referred to it by examining information contained in budget papers and ministerial portfolio statements, answers to prehearing questions on notice, oral evidence taken at the hearing, documents tabled at the hearing and answers to questions taken on notice at the hearing.
I will make one general observation on a point made in the statement of reservation by the member for Burnett and also referred to by him today. At dot point 3 he refers to 'the limited time available for the conduct of hearings for each department, thus limiting the capacity of the parliament to explore issues of concern to finality'. The inference, of course, is that he wants unlimited time. This is impractical and of course impossible. There must be some finality to the process.
It is interesting also that a member of the National Party should continually raise objections of this nature to the estimates committee process. He raised exactly the same issue word for word last year. Members will remember that the Nationals refused point blank to implement estimates committee hearings in order to make the government accountable and budget expenditure transparent. This was a real point of conflict between the Nationals and the Liberals in the days of the coalition government-fortunately, in the dim and distant past.
With regard to the 2005-06 budget for the Department of Employment and Training, $911. 7 million will be invested in jobs and training. I will not mention all the initiatives, but they include large amounts such as $114.5 million for the User Choice program budget- an increase of 3.8 per cent-with a focus on improved access in thin market areas and new training places in traditional apprenticeships for the building, construction and engineering industries, a major driver of the Queensland economy.
There are also smaller but just as important amounts such as $2.2 million for the mining centre of excellence. That, in partnership with the industry, will continue to build a skilled, flexible and innovative work force that sustains and grows the Queensland mining industry-a major export earner. Another important initiative is the $9. 4 million to enhance the department's maintenance program for TAFE institutes, an increase of $4 million from 2004-05. This additional funding will provide improvement to the TAFE facilities and enhancement of learning environments throughout the TAFE network. This department contributes significantly to the unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent-the best in the country. This is at a time of record participation levels of 66.6 per cent.
In relation to the Education and the Arts budget, it is significant that $455.1 million has been allocated to the Education capital works program. Additionally, there are other important initiatives such as a $3.5 million allocation to provide laptops or personal computers for state school teachers. Asbestos issues were also considered including roof replacement, removal procedures, dust and air monitoring, and testing and signage regarding an asbestos materials register. It is pleasing that the new minister is carrying on and progressing the asbestos removal program of the previous minister.
I also note that the Southport State High School is scheduled to have one roof replaced in 2005-06-this financial year. Of course, the priority listing, which the Southport State High School falls into, is not the end of the matter and must be managed properly. When asbestos is removed, there must be no people on the premises and weather conditions must also be taken into account. The asbestos removal industry is small. For those reasons, it is difficult to schedule precise removal time frames, even with the best will and determination in the world. I commend the report to the House.
Report adopted. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 12:00 AM
Back
|
|
