Senator WATSON —My question is directed to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Alston. The government is committed to jobs growth, in particular for people living in rural and regional Australia. Will the minister inform the Senate of the positive impact that call centres are having in providing jobs growth in regional Australia, and what is the government doing to assist the regions in attracting new call centres? Is the minister aware of any alternative policy proposals and what would be the impact should these be implemented?

Senator ALSTON (Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) —Call centres are a rapidly expanding industry. There are a number of international firms flocking to Australia to take advantage of a number of very important comparative advantages that we have. It is quite clear that we have not only a multilingual work force but we also have very skilled workers, we have very advanced telecommunications infrastructure and we have a unique time zone position. All of these factors come together to make Aus tralia a very attractive location for call centres. Regional communities in particular are an attractive location, as Senator Watson would appreciate, because companies looking to set up call centres are usually looking for locations where there is low staff turnover and low cost structures, where the quality of life is very attractive and where people tend to have a more customer friendly focus.

In Tasmania in particular that has been the experience to date. That is why some 2,600 jobs have already been created in call centres in that state alone. It is very encouraging indeed that firms such as Ansett, Qantas, Westpac, Centrelink, the Taxation Office, Watts Communications and other telecommunications carriers are identifying Tasmania as a very important opportunity for them—something like $170 million worth of business for the Tasmanian economy. The number of call centres is growing at the rate of about 20 per cent a year throughout Australia. It is an industry worth close to $2½ billion, and that should continue.

It certainly will continue while we are in government because we are very keen to encourage people to move into sunrise industries. People should be aware of the fact that the starting salary for a graduate in a call centre is approximately $32,000, with some managers earning in excess of $300,000. More than 50 per cent of call centre employees are tertiary graduates and more than half are under 30. It ought to be patently clear that this is one of the big employment opportunities of the future. So we ask ourselves: why is it that the Labor Party constantly denigrates this form of employment? The answer is: because there are not too many union members employed in call centres. The ACTU even had the gall to denigrate call centres on the Business program recently, calling them `sweat shops'.

Here we have a perfect opportunity for an expanding industry in places like Tasmania which desperately need encouragement for this sort of activity, and you lot are bagging them. Is it any wonder that John Della Bosca has to come to Canberra to tell Kim Beazley that the voters are sick of Labor's negativity?

The PRESIDENT —Mr Beazley, Senator.

Senator ALSTON —Mr Beazley, Madam President. Wake up to yourselves. Of course they are. They want you to get out there and barrack for middle Australia. They do not want you simply to be playing for those who have put you in this place so that you can have a nice, cosy little time and ignore the interests of mainstream Australia. How humiliating! How demeaning that a state secretary, some dishevelled genius, as Mr Carr calls him—he is probably half right—has to come to Canberra to tell the federal Leader of the Opposition where he has it horribly wrong. He says, `There are big lessons in New South Wales for you. One of the major lessons is: wake up and start listening to middle Australia.' Middle Australia want jobs for themselves and for their children. They want these employment opportunities. Stop bagging them and encourage them. (Time expired)