Page 231 - Week 01 - Thursday, 18 February 1993
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My own Economic Development Division has a very good record of consultation with businesses, finding out what the issues are that are concerning those businesses, and getting a little ahead of the game in attracting new businesses as well.
It is a fairly delicate matter, Madam Speaker. I do not believe that the ACT is really in a position to compete with the Queensland Government. We are a much smaller enterprise and have much less available to us in financial incentive terms. That is about the state of play, Madam Speaker. I think the EPACT paper, when it comes, which should be very shortly now, will be a great deal of use in continuing this kind of debate about what the community would find acceptable.
MR DE DOMENICO: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Chief Minister, would you consider, for example, the secondment of some of the 99 staff of the Economic Development Division? Instead of sitting in their tower in the city, perhaps they could be told to work within the high-tech industries in an exchange program so that they might be better aware of the way business works.
MS FOLLETT: I think there is at least one instance where that has actually occurred, although perhaps not with a private business but with the university or one of the CRCs. I think those kinds of exchanges of expertise, exchanges of staff, can be extremely valuable. Here in the ACT the Government and the public sector have to be in partnership with the private sector. They are about fifty-fifty in our economy and they must work together. I think those kinds of exchanges, whether they are through interchange programs, which currently occur, or through some other one-off arrangement, are extremely valuable.
North Watson Development
MR LAMONT: Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning. Has the Minister seen the article on page 3 of today's Canberra Times concerning the proposed development of North Watson and the use of better cities funding for this? Can the Minister tell the Assembly whether the article is correct in its assertions?
MR WOOD: Yes, I have seen that article, although I have not seen the submission. I might say that I welcome any submissions on the North Watson proposal or other proposals because they are all important. However, I hope that the submission, which I understand is very comprehensive, is a little more accurate than the media statement or whatever information they put out in shortened form. There are a number of processes going on with North Watson and this is but one group. I might mention in passing that I have had a couple of letters from people in the North Canberra area, from Watson, expressing some concern about this group claiming to represent the community when it is not a community body. It was stated to be, from a telephone conversation of one of my letter writers, a loose collection of people, but they have used the words "community group" for more punch.
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