Page 4092 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014
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The ACT Labor government are committed to telling it the way it is. We are getting on with managing the Canberra economy for the benefit of the Canberra community in the long term and doing the best we can to weather the obstacles that the federal government keeps putting in our way. We are looking to the long-term future of the city, despite the economic uncertainty, through investing in our people, our economy, in local jobs and in our city.
The ACT government is focusing on key areas of investment—health, education, public transport and resolution of the toxic legacy of Mr Fluffy asbestos in over 1,000 homes in Canberra. This government will steer the territory to see the emergence of a stronger, more diverse economy supporting our community.
While the federal government is cutting federal public servants and shipping others off to more favoured electorates, it inevitably introduces uncertainty to the territory’s economy. However, there are positive signs. The ACT economy is stronger, more diverse and more resilient now when compared to 1996. We look forward to growth in the medium to long term, after the current pause, as individuals and businesses take stock and wait to see what further surprises the federal government has in store.
Meanwhile the ACT government has had to deal with the legacy of loose-fill asbestos in over 1,000 family homes. On some issues governments can pick and choose the ideal time to tackle a challenge or fight the good fight. However, in the face of new evidence of the danger still lurking from loose-fill asbestos in our homes, we do not have a choice; we have to deal with it now. Doing nothing would expose Canberrans to the ongoing health danger for generations to come and surely bankrupt many families.
I know, from friends in Belconnen and constituents I have spoken to who face losing the homes they have lived in for many years, of the trauma, dilemmas and challenges involved. We all wish a previous government, ACT or federal, had known many years ago what we know now of the ongoing dangers, despite the earlier clean-up, and dealt with it once and for all. The Mr Fluffy program will have an impact on the ACT’s bottom line but we see there is no choice. It is the right thing to do, and it is the right thing to do it right now. Buyback, demolition and rebuilding is the best way to resolve the Mr Fluffy legacy.
The ACT government is committed to supporting sustained growth and development of the ACT economy. In 2012 the government released “Growth, diversification and jobs: a business development strategy for the ACT”. The strategy was a mix of program delivery and creation of the right business environment. It provided a clear framework for supporting and growing small, innovative businesses, which it has been doing consistently for several years.
I would like to outline a few cases of how this strategy has been supporting our local small and medium enterprises as well as illustrating some of the notable success stories we have seen. One example has been the government’s contribution to the establishment costs of the Griffin accelerator program, which is an initiative of a group of ACT entrepreneurs who are prepared to fund, support and work with
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