RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS - Queensland Parliament ...

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22 Apr 2009 Questions Without Notice 43 Climate Change and Sustainability Hon. KJ JONES (Ashgrove—ALP) (Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability) (10.26 am): With the honour and privilege of becoming the Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability comes an enormous obligation to protect Queensland’s unique natural environment. I want to make it very clear from the outset that I am absolutely determined to tackle the big environmental issues that are confronting Queensland but not at the expense of jobs—our government’s No. 1 priority. These are issues such as the enormous challenges of climate change, preserving the Great Barrier Reef and our 300 national parks, sustainable development and helping to reduce Queensland’s carbon footprint. We made a number of commitments at this year’s election to foster a greener, cleaner and more environmentally sustainable Queensland, many of which come under my portfolio. $1.5 million will be spent to restore Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast and $1 million will be spent to build a further three artificial reef sites in Moreton Bay, increasing recreational fishing opportunities in the region. Cape York will also be further entrenched as one of Queensland’s special iconic areas, with the progression of a World Heritage nomination and the construction of one of the longest and most spectacular natural walks in the world—a 2,000 kilometre Great Walk from the Daintree River to the tip of Cape York. I look forward to delivering on these commitments. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask members to welcome Ms Mary Porter AM, MLA, the Deputy Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly, and her husband, who are in the gallery today. Would you please make them welcome to the Queensland parliament. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Job Creation Mr LANGBROEK (10.29 am): My question without notice is to the honourable Premier. Given that we all agree that there is nothing more important in the current economic climate than ensuring Queensland jobs are protected and new full-time jobs are created, what practical measures and detailed plans will the Premier’s government implement to ensure that 100,000 new full-time jobs are created? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. It seems that unfortunately he was not listening yesterday when the Governor outlined for the people of Queensland the four-point plan that my government has put in place, so I am very happy to have an opportunity this morning to repeat it in summary. My government will be approaching the creation and protection of jobs on four key planks. Firstly, we will be continuing as a matter of priority our capital infrastructure program. This is the largest infrastructure program in the country. It is delivering 119,000 jobs to Queenslanders. It is stimulating the economy and we will prioritise it in all of our budget deliberations. Secondly, we will look to skill Queenslanders through the economic crisis so that those, particularly young Queenslanders who might have otherwise gone into the workforce at the end of this year of school but who find they are not able to do so, can go straight into a training place with the creation of 150,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships. We will give rebates to employers who take on and maintain apprentices and trainees. We will give them a 125 per cent rebate. Thirdly, we will look to create, encourage and build new industries, such as the liquid natural gas industry. As I outlined in my ministerial statement this morning, we are getting on with the job. I met with the LNG industry about 10 days ago. They outlined a number of areas where we could fast-track proposals and we are on the job with those ideas. The Coordinator-General recently made a declaration of a project of state significance of one of the largest of the LNG proponents. Fourthly, as governments should do in these times, we will get on with job creation programs—such as our Green Army. As I outlined in my ministerial statements this morning, today we will open the hotline and the website for those unemployed Queenslanders who want to be part of building the environmental legacy of Queensland. I note that in the introduction to his question the Leader of the Opposition stated that we all agree that job creation should be a priority. Well, they did not agree with that four weeks ago. Four weeks ago, they thought the best way to deal with an economic crisis was to sack 12,000 Queenslanders. That was their economic policy four weeks ago. They did not agree then. They wanted 12,000 people on the unemployment scrap heap. Every one of them would have lost their job under your plan to take a billion dollars out of the budget every single year. He agreed with that strategy so much that he put the architect of that strategy in the job as his deputy.
44 Questions Without Notice 22 Apr 2009 Job Creation Mr LANGBROEK: My second question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, in the last four weeks, thousands of Queenslanders have lost their jobs. Will you commit additional funds to help create new jobs for these Queenslanders and their families? What practical measures are you taking to fulfil your government’s commitment to create 100,000 new full-time jobs in the next three years? Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before I call the Treasurer, I ask the Leader of the Opposition to rephrase the question and take out the word ‘you’. Mr LANGBROEK: My apologies, Mr Speaker. Will he commit additional funds to help create new jobs for these Queenslanders and their families? What practical measures is he taking to fulfil his government’s commitment to create 100,000 new full-time jobs in the next three years? Mr SPEAKER: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his courtesy. Mr FRASER: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question and congratulate him on the election to that office. The government made it clear in the election campaign that our central focus for this year and indeed for the next term was on fighting rising unemployment. There is nothing more tragic for the individual, nothing more tragic for the family, than the threat of job loss or the eventuality of facing unemployment. We set ourselves an ambitious target in the election campaign—100,000 new jobs created over the next three years. Will that target be difficult? Yes, absolutely. But only by setting ourselves that challenge will we put that at the forefront of all decision making that we take as a government. We announced during the election campaign a $57 million program for the Green Army with 3,000 places. There will be 700 traineeships and 2,300 jobs in that program and the Premier spoke about that this morning. It is direct intervention to help those who have found themselves faced with the desperate circumstances of unemployment in recent times. The fact of the matter is that the government here has many roles to play. We have a role to play in delivering a massive infrastructure program for the people that it employs, for the jobs it supports in the economy, for the demand it generates in the economy, and for the jobs that it generates and supports in the economy. We have a role in the direct provision of employment programs, continuing with the $81 million Skilling Queenslanders for Work program that has been at the forefront of labour market programs over the last decade—programs that you, Mr Speaker, know only too well have been there to assist Queenslanders who have faced the prospect not only of short-term unemployment but also of long-term unemployment. There is no debate about this target. On the second Thursday of each and every month when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its profile for the labour force, there will be a yardstick, a line in the sand by which we will be judged and which we expect the people of Queensland—and in fact the opposition—to hold us to account on. We know that. What is clear is that last month just over 2,000 jobs were created in Queensland. No other state came close. The threat at this time is that that may well be the last month where we see that. As I said earlier, the risk to our unemployment forecast remains absolutely on the downside—that is, that unemployment could go higher. We only have to note what the Reserve Bank governor said yesterday, what the IMF has said overnight and what Consensus Economics said on Tuesday about the contraction that has occurred in the global economy. The answer to what this government will do in relation to fighting unemployment is that we have to put job creation and job protection at the forefront of each and every decision we make as a government. Gold Coast, AFL Stadium Mrs KEECH: My question is to the Premier. In an earlier ministerial statement, the Premier made reference to the government’s efforts on progressing an AFL stadium at the Gold Coast. Can the Premier update the House on the progress of this very important subject? Ms BLIGH: I thank the whip for the question. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of this project from its inception, unlike members on the other side. Ten days after the election, the Gold Coast’s dream of a redeveloped stadium at Carrara and securing a licence for a new 17th AFL national team took a massive step forward. The Queensland government, along with the AFL, signed a memorandum of agreement about the development and redevelopment of the stadium. Our decision to put $60 million into the construction of this stadium without doubt was the catalyst for the decision by the AFL to grant a conditional licence for a 17th team at the Gold Coast. Not surprisingly, as I said on the day, one thing about the Gold Coast people is that when they get behind something, you can count on them to really get behind it. One of the hurdles that the AFL set the Gold Coast team was that they had to be able to demonstrate a support base. They needed to get 20,000 signatures supporting a team at the Gold Coast. How many signatures did they get? Mr Stevens: 42,000.
Page 1 and 2: PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 RECORD OF PROC
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents — Wednesday, 22
Page 5 and 6: 22 Speaker’s Statement 22 Apr 200
Page 7 and 8: 24 Appointments 22 Apr 2009 Panel o
Page 9 and 10: 26 Motion 22 Apr 2009 MOTION Sessio
Page 11 and 12: 28 Motion 22 Apr 2009 (3) The House
Page 13 and 14: 30 Tabled Papers 22 Apr 2009 Wooloo
Page 15 and 16: 32 Tabled Papers 22 Apr 2009 16 Apr
Page 17 and 18: 34 Ministerial Statements 22 Apr 20
Page 25: 42 Ministerial Statements 22 Apr 20
Page 29 and 30: 46 Questions Without Notice 22 Apr
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Page 45 and 46: 62 Financial Accountability Bill 22
Page 47 and 48: 64 Vegetation Management (Regrowth
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