Page 3909 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 19 September 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Canberra Liberals are very keen to play a part in that relationship, as we are with all international opportunities. The starkest ones are India, China, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand and Japan, but there are many other opportunities that exist.
It is not the role of the Assembly or the government to necessarily railroad investment or railroad opportunities, but it is the role of this place to ensure that we are removing all barriers and doing what we can to actually provide genuine opportunities so that Canberra becomes an attractive place for people to take risks and to create investment opportunities.
It is not, I think, for the ACT government to go to great lengths to try to pick winners, because that is fraught. Whilst there might be some times where there is a case for particular investments, what would be better would be to make the ACT a place that is attractive and conducive to this sort of risk-taking and this kind of investment. In doing so we are far more likely to get more sustainable and viable business opportunities rather than ones that are somewhat artificially created.
In conclusion the opposition again thanks Mr Steel for bringing forward this matter of public importance. We stand together with the government in promoting the ACT to the world.
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism and Major Events) (3.47): I thank Mr Steel for raising this MPI today and Mr Coe for his constructive contribution. As I have said in this place on numerous occasions, the future for our city is to be more nationally and globally connected. In the simplest terms, we are not going to grow wealthy selling to ourselves. The key to economic and job growth for our city is in exporting—exporting our knowledge, our skills, our human capital and products that are designed and made in Canberra, whether that is a phased-array radar or a tinny of Capital Brewing’s coast ale.
Canberrans voted last year for an agenda that was for a more outwardly looking, internationally engaged city. They voted to seek more opportunities for this city outside Australia, and we are committed as a government to supporting Canberra and the surrounding region, its businesses and organisations, in their international market development endeavours. We have a clear strategy in place to do this. We support this by promoting our knowledge-based industries and investment opportunities nationally and internationally.
I have established the role of the Commissioner for International Engagement, reached across the aisle in the spirit of bipartisanship in that particular appointment and launched the ACT government’s international engagement strategy. These have been important milestones, but they also create the operational framework for delivery of the government’s agenda.
Facilitating new investment in Canberra is also the primary vehicle for opening pathways for trade and for exports. A strategic focus on key sectors is important to how we project ourselves and our investment offerings internationally. The key sectors of defence, spatial technologies and cybersecurity are a major focus of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video