Page 29 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 8 February 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Overall, the ACT economy continues to show resilience in the face of COVID-19. Since the middle of 2019 to the middle of 2021, more than 2½ thousand new businesses are operating in the ACT. So we continue to have nation-leading business growth in our territory. We will continue to closely monitor the daily, weekly and monthly pandemic and economic data over the coming weeks and months as we take a considered and informed approach to the next step of our economic recovery.
We head into 2022 cautiously optimistic, with the early signs of household consumption bouncing back already from the Omicron wave once the impact of this wave subsides. We also see announcements in the last 24 hours that will certainly boost international migration and travel to Australia and to the ACT. This opening of the borders, or further opening of our national borders, is good news for the tourism sector and for higher education and, indeed, for skilled migration.
The ACT will continue to drive towards our objective of full employment and we will continue our 30 consecutive year record of sustainable economic growth. There is no other jurisdiction in Australia that has had 30 consecutive years of economic growth.
The ACT budget review is now less than two months away. Whilst I will not pre-empt the midyear update today, I can say that the review and the forthcoming 2022-23 ACT budget will continue to deliver on the government’s plan for a more prosperous and progressive Canberra.
The path back to budget balance will continue to be a focus for the government over the medium term. However, the need to continue to support the economic recovery and position Canberra to respond to a range of opportunities as we emerge from the pandemic currently outweighs the need to balance the budget in the next few years.
Madam Speaker, we are very well aware of the disproportionate intergenerational impact that economic downturns have on the prospects of young people. Therefore, investment in education, skills development and ensuring economic opportunities for young people is critical, and critical right now, to building long-term economic strength.
The pandemic has required significant time and resources from the territory government. Our effective health response has been crucial not only to maintaining a strong economy and building a strong recovery but also to enable us to focus on other priorities for the year ahead, such as the delivery of key components of the parliamentary and governing agreement for this Tenth Assembly.
I will take the opportunity now to outline our priorities across a range of portfolio areas. This is not an exclusive list, but it is an extensive list that we will be pursuing this year. In health and mental health, our hospitals and healthcare workers have done a magnificent and tireless job of responding to the pandemic and we know that this work will continue in earnest in the coming weeks and months.
Of course, our continued work on the physical expansion of Canberra Hospital remains one of the government’s key infrastructure projects. But other priorities in
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video