I
4
PRIME MINISTER
ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING, MP,
OFFICIAL OPENING OF KURILPA PARK, SOUTHBANK, BRISBANE
THURSDAY 27 OCTOBER, 1994
Well. I'm delighted to be here on this occasion, but most particularly to have
been able to have joined with Brisbane City Council in doing some of the
things that we thought we could do together during the worst of the recession,
to provide some hope and some value to young people, in particular, who
were unemployed or long term unemployed, over the course of the recent
past. And, it's not really part of one's experience that city councils take on
with such fervour, with such a sense of decency and humanity, the interests
of young people in particular and even mature aged unemployed people, to
find tasks for them that lift their self esteem, give them a place in the scheme
of things and, as an end result, achieve something on the way for the city and
the people.
And, this has happened and the collaboration between the Commonwealth
and the City Council has been a matter of great pleasure to me. And, I
congratulate the Lord Mayor on taking this initiative. Because, it's one thing
for the Commonwealth to have the money to do some of these things... we
can't do it unless there is the help and assistance on the ground, the sense of
ambition, locally, for these things to happen. And, I'm delighted to say that
we've seen it with Brisbane City Council. What we have seen here is, I am
sure, just another, further manifestation of the concentration on the river
which we are seeing in Brisbane in recent years certainly since Expo'
some years ago. I think, now, most people in Brisbane regard the river as a
major asset where I'm not sure this would have been true all that many years
ago. And, Kurilpa Park is going to be a further asset to the river and a place
of solace for people to come because cities need some open space and
some breathing space and this is a bit of breathing space another part of
the lung of the city. And, it wouldn't be here without the efforts of these
young people.
The Lord Mayors statistics, I think, are pretty impressive. That is, the
number of trees put into place, the tonnage of garbage which has been taken
away, the lawns, the stonework, the footpaths... all employing, over the
course of it. 2000 people, 700 of whom have found full time employment. So, 2821
it's a pretty successfui strike rate when one is considering that the young
people mainly young people involved here are amongst the longer term
unemployed. And, that sort of work experience is terrific for them, it makes
the community feel good about itself, but most importantly it makes them feel
good about themselves.
The Lord Mayor was kind enough to congratulate the Government on the
White Paper and I think the White Paper is one of those things... I was saying
last night the attention span of the media is so short these days. When I first
went into Parliament 25 years ago stories would be developed in the print
media and would then be picked up by television. Something like the White
Paper would go for weeks, people trying to digest it. Now, the reverse is the
case; television picks it up for a night, you get a one day follow-up in the print
the next day and that's the end of it. Done. Now, we're still building the
White Paper and I see Neville Bonner has joined us I have just been at
ACOSS where he was present, this morning, saying that we are going to be
case managing 560,000 people this year. We're setting up in what is a world
first, a system of case management where an individual person will be
relating to an unemployed person, unemployed 12 months or more, and
understanding their aptitudes, their educational qualifications, what they'd
like to do and getting a plan in place and a subsidy to get them back into
work. So, you can imagine setting up a system where we are actually, personally
case managing over half a million people. It is going to be an enormous
challenge. But, one that will mark this society out from other comparable
countries where we will not have, and will not accept that 300,000 people
should go on the labour scrap heap while the rest of us move off to
prosperity; that we will keep the country as one, inclusively, inclusive and
together and that we will get the longer term unemployed people back into
mainstream jobs. Now, we've already had tremendous success in the last
year; since the election 413,000 jobs have been created in this country. We
were heading for a target of half a million over three years, we're four fifths of
the way in two thirds of the time, or just over half the time.
But, importantly, 80,000 of the 400,000 jobs have gone to the long term
unemployed. If you were looking at 400,000 jobs in the eighties, that 80.000
would be more like 15,000 or 20,000. So, out of 400,000 jobs, 15,000 or
20,000 might have gone to the long term unemployed. This time, out of
400,000, there are 80,000 which have gone to the long term unemployed so
we are really starting to get them back into the mainstream of the labour
market. And, as the economy picks up and grows and as we bring more
growth to the labour market, hopefully, we'll really start chopping that long
term unemployment back.
The other great thing about the White Paper is that we're saying that we will
not let any person, any young person under the age of 18, slip through the
system. If someone drops out of education we will case manage them back
into it. And, if not into mainstream education secondary education into
TAFE, and if not into TAFE into a subsidised workplace and on the job
2822
training. In other words we just won't let somebody leave at age 16 and,
basically, drop out. We're going to try and get them back in because I think a
country which does not care about its young people is not a country with a
future. It is as simple as that. So, this is very important to us and the
innovation that we had in there we're now starting to stream kids in years
11 and 12, the last years of secondary school, into TAFE accreditation so
they can actually get their career path set in years 11 and 12 and do things in
secondary school which give them accreditation for TAFE, thereafter.
So, you might ask what this has got to do with the park? They are all a
common theme. That is, we won't leave the unemployed behind
particularly the young unemployed and whether it is work experience under
JOBSKILLS, LEAP or the other labour market programs in the White Paper,
they are things that, I think, a country as wealthy as this should commit itself
to. Now, one may say, " Well, that's entirely reasonable", but not many
people were sticking their hand up in the depths of the recession saying,
' Well, look, we'll take young people on, we'll put our own money in and we'll
do it." Now, Jim Soorley did this and so did his council and we'll be forever in
their debt for it. And, the young people who have got those jobs, whose lives
have been restored will be in their debt. And what pnice? The product of 700
jobs in the economy versus the cost of 700 unemployed people. The obvious
benefit in terms of product of having those people engaged compared to
being unengaged is, of course, manifest. So, not only have they been taken
up but they produced quite a wonderful change in an area such as this and
when this gets to maturity and those trees get larger and it gets a bit of patina
about it, this will be a very lovely space for the city.
And, I'm actually delighted with the way Brisbane is changing. There is
tremendous growth behind Brisbane now, as one of the growth capitals of the
country. The fact that it has a greater Brisbane Council area and is not
broken up by small municipalities means that there can be city planning and
you have a Lord Mayor who understands the potential of Brisbane, the
demands which will be placed upon its infrastructure in the future, and how it
can, with the growth and particularly its temperate climate and its
relationship with the Asia Pacific become a very significant part of
Australia and one where we can do some things with city planning that will
make Brisbane one of the beautiful places in this country. One of the great
joys to me is some of the worst architecture of the sixties and seventies
and we've got more than our liberal spread of it right around the
Commonwealth: there's a great dollop of it here, of course, in Brisbane it
will be mulched in because the sites are more valuable than the buildings.
So, we get a second crack at it. That is something which I think is going to be
terribly good for Brisbane. I was delighted with the Commonwealth Law
Courts just across the river there, that we've been able to add a quality bit of
architecture to the city and a lot of the packing case rubbish which surrounds
it will go as the years go on. And, we'll be able to build some decent
buildings along the river front here and maybe get the height limitations right
and make this a very lovely city. 2 823
4
At least. I think, we'd like to be involved, with Better Cities to see the
Commonwealth involved with some of these things, which we are now, of
course, in the greater Brisbane area and to see a partnership between the
government of Queensland and the Commonwealth in doing these things, but
in a tripartite relationship with the Council of greater Brisbane. So, there is, I
think, a great optimism about Queensland, a great sense of opportunity, of
the future and a sort of civic pride returning to the place where it is not just
simply a developers' melee but, where the public interest gets a look in
and there is an understanding that there is a greater interest in doing it right.
I certainly salute the Lord Mayor's efforts in this respect.
So, could I thank everyone associated with today, with this project, but more
particularly with the JOBSKILLS and LEAP projects around Brisbane and for
the many people involved in the supervision and design of these projects.
But, most particularly, to those unemployed people who have joined them,
who have benefited from them and who have given something back to the city
as they go off then into permanent employment. And, those who are
unemployed, we'll be case managing them back into a job and back into
training. So, again, congratulations Jim, on a job really well done and I am
delighted that my colleagues and I could be here on this occasion to declare
Kurilpa Park open. Thankyou.
ends.
2824