weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

2546 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2005
Mr Johnson interjected.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member for Gregory under standing order 253.
Mr ROBERTSON: That is why we are redirecting the funding from the Broncos sponsorship to
ensure that this telepaediatric service can continue to operate for the benefit of young people,
particularly children in the rural and remote communities of Queensland.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Export Solutions
Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Deputy Premier, Minister for Finance and Minister for
State Development, Trade and Innovation) (9.53 am): I am very pleased to advise the House that since
the government launched its five-year trade strategy called Export Solutions in October 2001,
Queensland exports have continued to perform strongly and to deliver excellent export outcomes. One
of the government’s key targets in the strategy was to have 600 more Queensland companies exporting
by 30 June 2006. I am pleased to advise the House that as at 31 July 2005 Queensland had registered
an additional 596 new exporters. We are obviously well on track. As at July this year we are only four
short of next year’s target. We will obviously achieve the target much earlier than we expected.
We also want to ensure that the Smart State broadens its export base. While our mineral and
agricultural sectors are the backbone of our export sector, we are now starting to make greater inroads
into overseas markets with an increasing number of sales of Queensland’s knowledge intensive
products. Since the commencement of the trade strategy, we have recorded an increase of $378 million
or 16 per cent in the value of knowledge intensive exports for the period 2000-01 to 2003-04. In the
same period, Australia overall recorded a decrease in the same sorts of exports of 2.4 per cent.
Queensland’s goods exports have delivered a stellar performance in 2004-05 with a 30 per cent
increase, or $6.075 billion, over the previous year.
The government established a new trade and investment office in Seoul, Korea, in March 2001
and opened the India office in Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka, in September 2004. A Queensland
government representative also commenced work in Doha in the Middle East in March 2004. These
officers and representatives are working hard with Queensland businesses to make Queensland’s
exporters even more successful.
The government has also initiated export projects for Vietnam and South America. Since the
commencement of the dairy industry development project in Vietnam in 2001 export outcomes have so
far totalled $19.58 million. The South America mining initiative, launched in 2001, has delivered
$32.4 million in exports of mining products and services. This would have created jobs, particularly in
regional Queensland, in an industry that is suffering a severe skills shortage. Despite the effects of
drought, terrorism and a high performing Australian dollar, Queensland exporters have delivered for the
state, and the Queensland government looks forward to continuing to assist Queensland companies in
overseas markets and to celebrating their successes.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Integrated Offender Management Strategy
Hon. JC SPENCE (Mount Gravatt—ALP) (Minister for Police and Corrective Services) (9.56 am):
I wish to provide details of yet another move by the Department of Corrective Services to increase
community safety by improving the way Queensland’s prisoners are managed. Last week the
department’s new Integrated Offender Management Strategy went live. IOMS, as it is called, is a new
computerised system that charts the programs, security and progression of offenders through the
correctional system. IOMS provides a consistent and integrated approach to offender management,
both in our jails and in the community.
It has cost almost $11 million to develop and has been three years in the making. It replaces the
Correctional Information System, and was rolled out statewide across the department last Monday.
Essentially, IOMS allows the Department of Corrective Services to quickly identify high-risk offenders
while they are still under our control and make the necessary adjustments to their supervision. This is
about further improving our prisoner management and enhancing community safety for all of us.
The Integrated Offender Management Strategy will minimise the chances of early release for
prisoners who are identified as posing a high risk of reoffending. I regard any recidivism rate as too high.
However, the latest report on government services data shows that Queensland has the lowest overall
recidivism rates in Australia. Efforts to reduce recidivism involve focusing on targeting offenders who are
at risk of reoffending; knowing what factors influence offending, such as drug or alcohol addictions or