Page 1329 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 12 May 2021
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between those sports using the same sorts of sporting infrastructure means that investment has paid significant dividends for the territory not only in an economic sense but also in a social and cultural sense. It was a good investment then; it is an even better investment now, and it will be fantastic for Canberra’s future.
Turning now to the government’s priority investment program and the future jobs fund, one of the government’s key economic development priorities has been to attract investment, increase jobs and, importantly, to encourage collaboration across key industries. The priority investment program was established in 2018 with these goals in mind.
In response to the pandemic the program’s 2020-21 funding round has focused on supporting projects that contribute to the city’s economic recovery and increase jobs in our emerging growth sectors, particularly tertiary education and research have been wilfully overlooked by the commonwealth. Clearly the universities have done something to offend the Morrison government over the years, and that played out in—
Ms Stephen-Smith: All coalition governments.
MR BARR: Yes, and that played out again last night. When you are splashing $100 billion deficits around and there is nothing for the university sector—the largest service export sector in our nation, and one of the largest employers—it tells you that something is broken. We will step in. We do not have the budget of the commonwealth, but through this program we are focused on supporting tertiary education and research in our city. The program’s current funding round resulted in six shortlisted projects from 22 expressions of interest. An independent panel has assessed the shortlisted projects, and I will be making some announcements on successful applicants over the coming weeks.
The government has also established the Future Jobs Fund to further support economic growth and recovery, with a focus, again, on higher education and research and on creating jobs in high-growth industries through a combination of grants, loans and government investment. This new funding, which was passed by the Assembly last month, will prioritise projects that protect the jobs we have and create new jobs in our universities and in the private sector.
As members would be aware, cybersecurity and space are among our city’s high-growth sectors. Last month we established the Canberra Cyber Hub to position Canberra as Australia’s cyber capital. The hub will grow the ACT’s cybersecurity education pathways, accelerate small-to-medium enterprises, and promote our city’s research and cybersecurity capabilities.
In the space sector, we will be working closely with the South Australian and Northern Territory governments on the implementation of the MOU that I signed with then Premier Weatherill and Chief Minister Gunner. I met with South Australia’s Premier, Steven Marshall, in Adelaide last week, and we reaffirmed our commitment to the delivery of the MOU and, indeed, opportunities for further partnership.
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