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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (6 May) . . Page.. 1585 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

As the title implies, Partners Canberra will be a partnership, in which the government, the private sector and research institutions each provide matching funding. Its charter will be to build our competitive advantage by attracting new businesses, retaining existing ones and facilitating population growth in our economic area.

A new Council of Education Export will receive $150,000 a year for the next four years to establish the ACT as a preferred study location for international students. Membership will be drawn from the heads of various education institutions, peak industry bodies and government agencies.

Export of education and training provides employment for around 4,000 people in the ACT region, and earns over $110 million a year in export revenue. The government intends to continue to build this important industry.

The government continues to support small and micro business, which makes up 96 per cent of all businesses in Canberra. The government is providing $922,000 over four years to extend the existing suite of programs for small and micro businesses, which ultimately will lead to jobs growth in the sector.

New funding provides for, amongst other things:

an online enhanced business advisory service, complementing the Canberra Business Advisory Service;

an improved online business licence information service, which will reduce the time it takes to comply with red tape;

enhancements to the business acceleration program, which provides dollar for dollar grants to developing businesses to help them in expansion; and

the creation of a 'Frustratagram' web site which businesses can use to log their views on regulatory issues as a part of the process of reforming regulation.

The new funding is in addition to $250,000 being provided for the small business employment ready program in 2003-04, allocated in the last budget. The program enables non-employing businesses located in the ACT to overcome barriers when taking on their first and subsequent employees. It is aimed at assisting individual businesses to overcome the issues relating to employing staff and 175 businesses have accessed this program to date in the current financial year.

Funding will also continue for other grant programs, such as the trade development program. The trade development program provides assistance to help ACT businesses enter international markets and to establish or grow offshore commercialisation activities that will ultimately expand business and increase profits. Six companies were offered funding totaling $165,000 in 2001-02. To this financial year, 12 companies have been offered funding over $106,000.

The government continues to focus on developing and supporting the ACT's knowledge-based economy through the Knowledge Fund, an initiative funded from the previous

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