Page5 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 3 November 2020
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In these most difficult of times, the people of the ACT have voted for a progressive government, and an ambitious vision for the future. They have also voted for a clear and comprehensive economic plan as we emerge from the greatest economic challenge of our self-governing era. We will remain focused on this. We know the COVID-19 pandemic is not over and there is a lot more work to do. Our community will need continued support as we respond to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.
Madam Speaker, protecting and creating jobs will be central to our economic recovery and we remain committed to growing Canberra’s employment base to more than 250,000 jobs by 2025. We know that a secure, well-paid job is about more than putting food on the table or paying the rent or mortgage; it provides meaning, structure, connection and opportunity in people’s lives.
Our government has a track record of driving down unemployment and creating jobs. Just last week, the State of the states report revealed that the ACT is the second-strongest performing economy in Australia, thanks to the strength of our jobs market and our low level of unemployment. Throughout the pandemic, the ACT has maintained the lowest unemployment rate in the country. We have been the only state or territory to see unemployment fall in the past quarter, down to 3.8 per cent.
The government’s view is that significant investment across a range of areas, including health, education and renewable energy, will continue to create jobs and keep people in work.
We have already delivered the first stage of light rail from Gungahlin to the city, and we are committed to extending the network south, a project that is expected to create 6,000 jobs.
One of our biggest projects in this term will be the expansion of the Canberra Hospital. A bigger and better Canberra Hospital will deliver more beds, more surgeries, more support for people with mental illness, a larger emergency department, and, importantly, more doctors, nurses and health professionals. Over the next four years, we will hire at least 400 new nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals across the territory’s health system.
2020 has clearly highlighted the incredible work of our health professionals and reinforced the need for quality health care. Our effective response to the pandemic would not have been possible without their tireless work.
That is why we will continue to invest in quality health care. This will include starting on the new network of walk-in health centres across Canberra; building the new elective surgery centre at the University of Canberra Hospital precinct; delivering 60,000 elective surgeries over the next four years; establishing a centre for excellence in caring for older people at Calvary hospital; and increasing our investment in mental health funding.
Madam Speaker, like our nurses, Canberra’s teachers were there when we needed them most, ensuring that our children continued to learn, even at the peak, the first
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