Page 1575 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 May 2017
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Three weeks ago the federal Liberal-National government put the policy of decentralisation on the table. Decentralisation represents a threat to our social fabric, to our economic wellbeing and to the vivacity and dynamism of our home. Since then, many people have approached me to tell me about the uncertainty this is causing them and how disruptive it has been, from those public servants who might have to move but who have to spend months and months waiting to find out, to those whose businesses and work might be caught up in the ripple effect. Hundreds have signed my petition.
Mr Assistant Speaker, you know that six months ago I too was a federal public servant. My story is a familiar one to many because it is also many other people’s story too. I moved to Canberra to join the federal public service, and I fell in love and stayed. It is important for me to bring forward this motion today to stand up for, and with, all Canberrans against this policy. But I especially do so for the federal public servants who cannot speak up and, indeed, for those who have been told that they cannot speak up.
Canberra is the nation’s capital. We are the national centre of excellence in public administration. This is why we were created; and it is no accident. Contrary to what some ignorant and misinformed commentators might say, I know from personal experience that the public servants working in Canberra are of the highest calibre. They are intelligent and resourceful professionals who are committed to delivering the best outcomes for Australia. They serve the entire Australian community quietly and proudly, resilient in the face of repeated attacks from a federal government to whom they work.
One of the strongest arguments for decentralisation is to boost the economies of regional centres, to create jobs. But Canberra is a regional centre itself. In fact, we are arguably the greatest regional success story there is in this country. Canberra is the hub in a region of close to one million people. Our region covers the city, the coast, the alpine regions and the tablelands. We have partnered with surrounding New South Wales councils to strengthen economic growth, encourage tourism and to foster export opportunities. The region is linked through transport, education, health services and retail. So moving people from a successful regional centre like Canberra to another regional centre does not make sense.
I am all for job creation. I grew up in towns of around 5,000 people and I know the importance of it, but this is not job creation. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul: robbing one regional centre to pay another regional centre. What would make sense is to move jobs out of increasingly congested cities like Sydney and Melbourne to Canberra, injecting even more life into our thriving region and easing issues of transport and housing affordability along the east coast.
It is worth noting at this point that, unlike the federal Liberal-National government, the ACT Labor government is absolutely committed to creating and protecting jobs in Canberra. We do know what job creation means and how to go about it.
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