Page 2724 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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Mr Hanson: What number is it?
MR BARR: It is certainly not number one, Mr Hanson; I will tell you that. We have committed to stage 2 of light rail. We have committed to major investments in our health system. And the major piece of social infrastructure that we have committed to progressing in this parliamentary term is further work on the development of a new theatre for Canberra.
We have also announced today our strong support for the further development of the higher education sector, entering into a memorandum of understanding with the University of New South Wales Canberra to facilitate a major investment in a new city east education precinct for Canberra. This is a significant opportunity for our city, with thousands and thousands of opportunities for students, researchers and academics; with jobs; with prosperity; with our city’s single largest export industry, the biggest earner of revenue for this city, brought in from outside.
If I have said it in this place once, I have said it 100 times: we will not grow as a city and our economy will not grow if we only buy or sell from each other. We must be more nationally and internationally engaged. Today, with the Microsoft announcement and the UNSW announcement, we are giving two very practical examples of hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment, new jobs, new opportunities, and growth for Canberra in sectors that we do exceptionally well in. This is the future for our city’s economic development. That is why we continue to support the rapid growth of higher education. I commend this appropriation, Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development, to the Assembly.
Proposed expenditure agreed to.
City Renewal Authority—Part 1.6.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (5.18): The commencement of the 2017-18 financial year has seen the discontinuation of the somewhat disaster-prone Land Development Agency and the establishment of the CRA and the SLA to take its place. The CRA will be responsible for urban renewal and managing major projects within declared urban renewal precincts. Its functions apparently include: carrying out urban renewal; acquiring, selling, holding and managing land and other property on behalf of the territory; making arrangements for developments; supporting public and private sector investments; and participating in urban renewal.
The 2017-18 budget statements E provide over $14 million for the CRA in the current financial year. The Chief Minister has ministerial and administrative responsibility over the CRA. However, it has been included in the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate’s budget statement. In addition, the Minister for Urban Renewal will in no way be associated with the CRA, despite urban renewal being its primary focus. Furthermore, the new arrangements will see the city activations unit and the city centre marketing and improvement levy transferred to the CRA.
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