Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to update the House on the very successful Northern Australia Investment Forum held earlier this week in Darwin. I note your keen interest in Northern Australia too, Deputy Speaker Landry. I would to place on record my thanks to the incredibly hardworking minister for trade, Andrew Robb, for his leadership and vision, because that was paramount in the success of this forum.

The forum brought together business leaders from Australia and overseas who were interested in pursuing investments in Northern Australia. It was an opportunity to showcase a suite of investment-ready projects across Northern Australia in fields such as agriculture, food processing, aquaculture, smart-technology-based resource extraction, remote renewable energy, world-leading tropical medical research and high-end ecotourism.

There were 300 Australian and international delegates at the forum, which included 85 executives from major international investors, market-leading firms and their Australian subsidiaries—they all took part in this very important forum. A number of delegates commented to me how the forum far exceeded their expectations. They were delighted at the connections and the opportunities that were being provided to them. For me, I was excited at the response to the Northern Territory. I was thrilled at the way the Territory was being seen by investors. We were able to showcase our sophistication—while maintaining our Territory uniqueness—and our untapped opportunities.

There was no doubt from any of the attendees that Northern Australia has untapped promise, abundant resources and talented can-do people—like you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am proud that this government will support investors as they develop tomorrow's solutions. As part of our commitment to unlock the north's potential, we have announced the release of a public consultation paper on the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, the $8.5 million Australian Tropical Medicine Commercialisation Grants program, and a business-friendly guide to land tenure and title systems in Northern Australia. At the conclusion of the forum, investors were clear why Northern Australia is a great place to invest and to conduct business, as well as about the many investment opportunities in Northern Australia. They had an insight into how the policy settings established by the Northern Australia white paper will make doing business in Northern Australia much easier. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the minister for Northern Australia, Josh Frydenberg, for his attendance, his support and his push to develop Northern Australia(Time expired)

Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian Bureau of Statistics household expenditure survey is a vitally important tool for understanding exactly how and where Australians are spending their money. It is therefore an important frame for guiding government policy. But it is impossible to deny that the six-yearly survey currently underway imposes a significant burden on participants. They are required to provide extensive personal information, including detailed financial records in face-to-face interviews. They are also required to keep a diary for a week, recording every single item they purchase and every service they pay for in great detail. The diary guide tells participants not just to write down 'haircut', but it must be 'boy's haircut' or 'girl's haircut', and not just that they have purchased fruit, but actually itemise whether it is a banana or an apple et cetera. If a household has been selected, participation in the survey is compulsory. A constituent has come to me with her concerns about the demands of the survey. She wrote:

Whilst I support the census and understand the need to collect data, I find this survey is demanding very personal information which is sensitive to me. It imposes a considerable burden of time and effort. Since being approached to do this survey, I have felt stressed and anxious and I feel my personal space has been invaded. I cannot relax in my home in case an unknown person turns up at my door requesting information and time.

But as she had been selected, there was very little we could do to help besides allay some of her concerns about the privacy and the security of the data collected.

If we are going to make the surveys of this depth compulsory, we should consider some modest financial compensation for those completing them. It would be an acknowledgement of the burden the survey places on people and would go a long way to making the participants less hostile to the process and it could even improve the quality of the data collected. In the last household survey, 2009-10, 26.4 per cent of the 13,500 households approached were listed as non-respondents. They either did not complete the survey, refused to participate or ignored key questions. I believe that offering compensation would encourage better participation and make the participants more inclined to accurately provide the level of detail to make this a coherent and successful survey.