Page 3511 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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There does seem to be a bit of contradiction among government members. Firstly, if I can deal a bit with the issue of growth: we saw recently the Australia Institute’s report suggesting that zero population growth in Canberra would be a good idea. Some people agree with that; many do not. I note that Jon Stanhope launched that report. He seemed to be giving his tacit approval to the idea that no growth would be a good thing for the ACT. The Chief Minister seems to feel that would be a good thing. Yet we see, certainly from Simon Corbell, all of the rhetoric about lots of cranes; it is a wonderful thing that we are growing; and all this sort of thing. There seems to be a bit of a difference of opinion within the government about whether growth is a good thing or not.
I would love to hear what the government’s position is on it, because they do not seem to be clear. They certainly produce very low growth. We have seen 0.2 per cent in the ACT and 1.7 per cent in the region. We heard the Treasurer earlier saying that he did not believe the figures; he said that they are very suspicious figures because the rental market is strong and the like. I do not know where Mr Quinlan gets his figures, but the ABS stats are clear that the ACT, under this government, is growing very slowly indeed—a growth rate of 0.2 per cent in Canberra and 1.7 per cent in the region.
What does that tell us? I think that tells us that there is some sort of demand to live in the Canberra region, but clearly the policies of this government, to one degree or another, are causing people to choose to live elsewhere. I know friends of mine who have lived in Canberra all their lives and who have moved to Queanbeyan simply because of the option of cheaper housing in the area.
It is clear that there is demand; it is clear, though, that the government is doing something wrong. Mr Quinlan’s response is to not believe the figures. I will stick to the figures of the ABS rather than believing Mr Quinlan’s hunch that it is a lot more than 0.2 per cent growth in the ACT.
In the estimates process, when he was asked about growth in the region versus growth in Canberra, he said, “It does not really matter if Queanbeyan grows more than Canberra. If they live in Queanbeyan, Murrumbateman, Yass or Canberra, that does not matter.” That is irresponsible from a member of the ACT government. It is important that we get our share of the regional growth. As the region grows, there is going to be more and more call on our resources and it is important that we see some of the revenue base that goes with that.
People who live in Queanbeyan use our roads a lot; they use our hospital system; they use our education system. Having them as non-contributors in terms of rates and in other areas of revenue is not a good outcome for the territory. So I disagree with Mr Quinlan’s blasé attitude to whether or not the ACT gets its share of regional growth. It is important and this government has not pulled its weight to see that happen.
As I said at the outset, we look forward to seeing what the policy of this government is. Does it support growth in Canberra or does it not? Does it care? I certainly support growth in the ACT. It is crucially important. Some of the figures that Mr Smyth quoted before were quite frightening in terms of an ageing population, in terms of the taxation burden that is likely to be placed on young Canberrans in the future if we do not grow. That is of concern.
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