Page 4637 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 19 October 2010
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This Labor government is committed to supporting a strong local economy and local jobs and has a sound economic framework to support this commitment.
Let us look at capital development. In support of local jobs, the government released in September 2008 its strategy to build a stronger, more dynamic and sustainable economy for the ACT—capital development towards our second century. It is a high-level strategic framework which sets enduring objectives and themes to guide the government’s economic policies. The foundation of this strategy is the government’s ongoing commitment to responsible financial management, appropriate regulation and sustainable development. These policies help create the macro-economic conditions to support business and consumer confidence in the ACT economy and ensure that the economy can achieve sustained growth and development.
Building on this foundation, three strategic themes guide the government’s economic policies: investing in people to increase the capacity and flexibility of the economy; encouraging business and innovation to help foster a more creative, competitive and dynamic business sector; and building infrastructure and planning for the future to support and coordinate economic activity.
These strategic themes are supported by more detailed strategies and action plans, including the ACT government infrastructure plan, our skills strategy, and a range of business development programs. Capital development also reaffirms our commitment to working strategically with our region to increase economic and job opportunities.
The ACT is the heart of a dynamic and growing region. As the largest city in the Australian capital region, Canberra is its economic centre. It is by far the main employment and services centre. The ACT provides many services and opportunities for residents in south-east New South Wales and, in turn, the region provides Canberra with other services, contributes significantly to our lifestyle pursuits and helps drive local economic and job opportunities.
There are strong employment links between the ACT and surrounding region. According to the 2006 census, of the 22,500 non-residents travelling to the ACT each day for work, 19,230 of them were Australian capital region residents. This represents about 10 per cent of the ACT’s workforce. Some 17,500 are from the ACT’s commuter belt, including Queanbeyan, with 11,700 from Jerrabomberra and the semi-rural areas surrounding Canberra.
Given the extensive links throughout the Australian capital region, there are clear opportunities for all governments of the region to work more closely to develop the region’s economic strength and help create more local job opportunities. Indeed, there is still work to be done.
The ACT is a strong supporter of regional engagement and has supported a number of initiatives and partnerships to help secure the economic growth and development of the ACT and region. These include the regional leaders forum, the ACT’s Regional Development Australia committee and a regional management framework agreement with New South Wales.
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