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weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

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2546 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2005<br />

Mr Johnson interjected.<br />

Mr SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member for Gregory under standing order 253.<br />

Mr ROBERTSON: That is why we are redirecting the funding from the Broncos sponsorship to<br />

ensure that this telepaediatric service can continue to operate for the benefit of young people,<br />

particularly children in the rural and remote communities of <strong>Queensland</strong>.<br />

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT<br />

Export Solutions<br />

Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Deputy Premier, Minister for Finance and Minister for<br />

State Development, Trade and Innovation) (9.53 am): I am very pleased to advise the House that since<br />

the government launched its five-year trade strategy called Export Solutions in October 2001,<br />

<strong>Queensland</strong> exports have continued to perform strongly and to deliver excellent export outcomes. One<br />

of the government’s key targets in the strategy was to have 600 more <strong>Queensland</strong> companies exporting<br />

by 30 June 2006. I am pleased to advise the House that as at 31 July 2005 <strong>Queensland</strong> had registered<br />

an additional 596 new exporters. We are obviously well on track. As at July this year we are only four<br />

short of next year’s target. We will obviously achieve the target much earlier than we expected.<br />

We also want to ensure that the Smart State broadens its export base. While our mineral and<br />

agricultural sectors are the backbone of our export sector, we are now starting to make greater inroads<br />

into overseas markets with an increasing number of sales of <strong>Queensland</strong>’s knowledge intensive<br />

products. Since the commencement of the trade strategy, we have recorded an increase of $378 million<br />

or 16 per cent in the value of knowledge intensive exports for the period 2000-01 to 2003-04. In the<br />

same period, Australia overall recorded a decrease in the same sorts of exports of 2.4 per cent.<br />

<strong>Queensland</strong>’s goods exports have delivered a stellar performance in 2004-05 with a 30 per cent<br />

increase, or $6.075 billion, over the previous year.<br />

The government established a new trade and investment office in Seoul, Korea, in March 2001<br />

and opened the India office in Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka, in September 2004. A <strong>Queensland</strong><br />

government representative also commenced work in Doha in the Middle East in March 2004. These<br />

officers and representatives are working hard with <strong>Queensland</strong> businesses to make <strong>Queensland</strong>’s<br />

exporters even more successful.<br />

The government has also initiated export projects for Vietnam and South America. Since the<br />

commencement of the dairy industry development project in Vietnam in 2001 export outcomes have so<br />

far totalled $19.58 million. The South America mining initiative, launched in 2001, has delivered<br />

$32.4 million in exports of mining products and services. This would have created jobs, particularly in<br />

regional <strong>Queensland</strong>, in an industry that is suffering a severe skills shortage. Despite the effects of<br />

drought, terrorism and a high performing Australian dollar, <strong>Queensland</strong> exporters have delivered for the<br />

state, and the <strong>Queensland</strong> government looks forward to continuing to assist <strong>Queensland</strong> companies in<br />

overseas markets and to celebrating their successes.<br />

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT<br />

Integrated Offender Management Strategy<br />

Hon. JC SPENCE (Mount Gravatt—ALP) (Minister for Police and Corrective Services) (9.56 am):<br />

I wish to provide details of yet another move by the Department of Corrective Services to increase<br />

community safety by improving the way <strong>Queensland</strong>’s prisoners are managed. Last week the<br />

department’s new Integrated Offender Management Strategy went live. IOMS, as it is called, is a new<br />

computerised system that charts the programs, security and progression of offenders through the<br />

correctional system. IOMS provides a consistent and integrated approach to offender management,<br />

both in our jails and in the community.<br />

It has cost almost $11 million to develop and has been three years in the making. It replaces the<br />

Correctional Information System, and was rolled out statewide across the department last Monday.<br />

Essentially, IOMS allows the Department of Corrective Services to quickly identify high-risk offenders<br />

while they are still under our control and make the necessary adjustments to their supervision. This is<br />

about further improving our prisoner management and enhancing community safety for all of us.<br />

The Integrated Offender Management Strategy will minimise the chances of early release for<br />

prisoners who are identified as posing a high risk of reoffending. I regard any recidivism rate as too high.<br />

However, the latest report on government services data shows that <strong>Queensland</strong> has the lowest overall<br />

recidivism rates in Australia. Efforts to reduce recidivism involve focusing on targeting offenders who are<br />

at risk of reoffending; knowing what factors influence offending, such as drug or alcohol addictions or

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