Page 1630 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 7 May 2013
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MR HANSON: If Mr Stanhope’s figure was not full and accountable, will you now support the opposition’s call for a full performance audit of ACTEW, including the blowout in the dam, by the Auditor-General?
MS GALLAGHER: No, I will not. This matter has been extensively canvassed in the ICRC’s assessment and report to the Assembly prior to the last election.
Economy—exports
DR BOURKE: My question is to the Minister for Economic Development. Can the minister advise the Assembly what steps the government is taking to assist ACT exporters grow further market opportunities?
MR BARR: I thank Dr Bourke for the question. The government has in place a range of programs and provides a variety of support to assist ACT businesses to grow as exporters. This includes help to establish exporting businesses to then grow their export activities and to work in new markets. The ACT government’s trade development support is delivered via a single program interface, Global Connect, which has been established for the various trade development related activities.
Some examples of activities undertaken in this area include Trade Connect, which is a competitive grants program providing funding to emerging Canberra exporters to support certain trade development activities. We support the ACT Exporters Network, which provides private sector leadership to promote exporting in a unique form for new and experienced exporting companies to network, to share knowledge and to expand their export activities.
Through the trade mission program, there are outbound ministerial-led missions providing companies with support in new markets. Through the ACT Chief Minister’s export awards, we recognise excellence in export performance and feed into the national export awards, providing ACT finalists with a prestigious reference for expanding international markets.
We have established the Exporting Government Solutions Centre of Excellence, which provides resources and expert mentoring to small and medium enterprises with a demonstrated capability for delivering innovative solutions to the Australian public sector to take those solutions to the international marketplace. Through the ACT international student ambassador program, we aim to leverage the international student experience in Canberra as both an international education marketing tool and importantly as a skills and alumni network that can link to the territory economy.
In addition, the Global Connect programs aim to: deliver a range of initiatives and support that are specifically targeted at raising awareness about the direct and indirect benefits of exporting; increase the number of ACT exporting firms by addressing market failure issues that are faced by emerging exporters; accelerate the growth of globally competitive and resilient businesses; develop specialist capability in enterprises that sell into different and complex export markets; connect experienced exporters and export intenders to work together to develop market opportunities;
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