The Finocchiaro CLP Government has this evening passed a Bill in Parliament to repeal Labor's costly portable long service leave scheme.
The scheme, introduced by the former Labor government, was to be funded by a new wage levy that would have been passed on to employers in the community services sector such as childcare, aged care and disability services.
They, in turn, would have had no choice but to pass on the cost to consumers.
Minister for Public Service Jo Hersey said the CLP strongly opposed the scheme in Opposition and had acted since the election to scrap the scheme that would have seen Territory parents paying more for childcare.
"Childcare centres told us this would cost them $50,000 extra a year, a cost that would be directly passed onto parents in the form of increased fees," said Mrs Hersey.
With about 10,000 employees impacted, Treasury estimated Labor's scheme would have increased community service sector costs by $20 million annually in the Territory.
As the main funder of these services, the increased costs would have been at the Northern Territory Government's expense.
The Northern Territory Council of Social Services labelled the scheme as "fundamentally flawed" and stated it "would not have adequately served the community service sector's employees."
