Debates Day 1 - Tuesday 23 May 1995
Parliamentary Record 11
Debates for 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997
1995-05-23
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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https://hdl.handle.net/10070/281694
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/413979
DEBATES - Tuesday 23 May 1995 In 1994-95, the business services group provided training workshops for small business in all the major centres in the Northern Territory, as well as selected programs at Jabiru, Groote Eylandt, Yulara and Nhulunbuy. In excess of 2000 new or established business operators availed themselves of its services during the year. The budget for workshops in the 1995-96 year has been set at $130 000. Expectations are that the popularity of these training workshops will increase during 1995-96 and provision has been made in the budget to meet this demand. During the year, the departments business counsellors have provided advice to over 4000 people who had recently established businesses or who were intending to enter into business for the first time. The free, confidential counselling service, which is delivered throughout the Territory, addresses fundamental business issues such as business planning and marketing. The skills of these counsellors, who are based in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, are being improved continually and updated through attendance at business training courses. In recent years, the demand for this counselling service has continued to increase and the departments planning will ensure that its clients expectations are fully met. Another important element of the services delivered by the business services group is its seminar program. In 1995-96, another series of seminars will be conducted, targeting identified industry sectors and business needs. In November this year, the popular and well-attended Meet the Buyer seminars will be held in all major Territory centres. This will be the third round of these seminars which are directed at fostering improved communication between purchasing staff of major government and private sector agencies and their local suppliers. In 1995-96, $50 000 of the departments budget has been earmarked to stage the Meet the Buyers Expo. Programs, known collectively as enterprise improvement programs, have been delivered to Northern Territory businesses of small to medium size under a joint funding arrangement with the Commonwealth government. In 1995-96, these programs will all be delivered under the Auslndustry banner. Under an Auslndustry bilateral agreement, the department will continue to use its efficient, effective, established mechanisms to deliver all the enterprise improvement programs in a manner that reflects the needs of local industries. Hopefully, the Auslndustry arrangement will eliminate the overlap that has typified the involvement of federal government agencies in the past. A new Northern Territory initiative introduced recently is the Business Development Consultancy Scheme. In 1995-96, $200 000 has been allocated towards the small Northern Territory businesses that do not qualify for the Northern Territory/Commonwealth New Industry Extension Scheme (NIES) Enterprise Improvement Program. 1995-96 will see the continuation and expansion of the Business Licence Information Service. The database, which provides detailed, up-to-date information about all licensing requirements for specific businesses, will be expanded during the next financial year to encompass also all local government and land information. The Northern Territory has been among the leaders in Australia in developing, adopting and implementing BLIS. Last year, 700 businesses took advantage of this free service. 3522