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 Mrs Padgham-Purich: I am unable to do that because I do not believe sex should come into business. Mr STONE: She might like to address this group at some stage. I invite her to do that. They are all very accomplished ladies in their own right... Mrs Padgham-Purich: I know they are. Mr STONE: ... who were very keen to have this particular forum. They do not mess with anyone. I would be happy to walk the member for Nelson in to enable her to share some of these gems with them. They would be just the people for her to talk to. Moving right along, project assessment is another responsibility of the Business Services Program. Project officers develop a comprehensive proposal and appropriate recommendations for consideration by the departments Industry Facilitation Review Committee. The project officers work closely with the clients throughout the process. The Internal Review Group, which is made up of departmental representatives who have extensive experience with Northern Territory industry and financial assistance, reviews the submission and supports, rejects or suggests amendments to the project officers recommendations. This process is designed to ensure that appropriate checks and balances apply to all applications for Northern Territory government financial assistance. Officers located in the central Australia, Tennant Creek and Katherine offices make this important element of the departments services readily available to regional business. One of the important challenges that this office will take up this year is research, evaluation and development of a policy to support a growing Northern Territory film industry. Increasingly, both central Australia and the Top End have been identified as preferred locations for shooting films and documentaries. The departments planning is directed towards ensuring that Northern Territory business achieves maximum benefit from these activities and that Territory workers are able to take advantage of job opportunities in this specialised and expanding industry. Financial assistance to industry is an important element of the Financial Services Program in the department and $6.814m has been allocated to it for 1995-96. In addition to assessing financial assistance, management of the departments financial assets falls within this activity. This includes regular review of loans to industry, establishing whether criteria for conversion to grants have been met, and instigating the necessary approvals for legal action or writing off unrecoverable moneys. Also within the industry development portfolio is the departments Defence and Space Industries Program. The increasing presence of the defence forces in the north means an ever-increasing window of opportunity for maximising established local business involvement and attracting to the Territory further service and support industries for those defence activities. $380 000 has been allocated to the operations of the Defence Advisory Group in 1995-96, enabling it to assist Territory business to seize every opportunity presented by the growing defence presence in the north. The group also liaises with agencies studying the suitability of sites in the Northern Territory for launching satellites. In an expanding and increasingly competitive communications and data market, Russian and American consortia are 3524