Page 1819 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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determine what elements would comprise an MFP, its form and location, and its economic viability. The study has identified seven technologies and industries which are the key to establishing the MFP, elements of which will almost certainly be "networked" within Australia and abroad. These elements are education, information, health, leisure, media and entertainment, environment and agriculture, construction and design, and advanced transport services.
These international linkages have the potential to significantly increase Australia's international market access. This represents a major "window of opportunity" for the Australian private sector, and this was recognised in the terms of the study, which includes the requirement that the project be, essentially, private sector driven. Currently, over 70 major Australian firms are involved in the study, together with a similar number in Japan. Companies in Europe, the United States and South-East Asia have also expressed strong interest.
The ACT, together with the other Australian States and the Northern Territory, has been actively involved in the project from its inception. ACT involvement has ensured that the interests of the Territory are fully considered in the study. This has included extensive liaison between my department and the NSW Department of State Development on coordinating submissions to the national study team investigating the MFP, particularly on MFP linkages between the ACT and NSW in education and other areas.
The ACT has submitted its own vision of the MFP to the MFP study team and I table that paper for the information of the Assembly. This concept has the endorsement of the ACT Government, as well as support from major educational-research institutions in the ACT, and private sector organisations such as the Canberra Association for Regional Development. It has been developed in close cooperation with the NSW Government.
The ACT concept of the MFP is built around the strong geographic and cultural linkages between the ACT and Sydney, including rapid transport proposals such as the VFT, and hinges on the crucial importance of education and human capital to the high-value, brain based activities anticipated to underpin the MFP.
The ACT has unique attributes in education, research and quality of life as well as in its built and natural environment with ready coastal and alpine access which make it an essential part of the MFP project. It is also the seat of national government and was established as a "neutral forum" for issues involving the States, something very important for this project.
The ACT is also headquarters for a growing number of national organisations and it has state-of-the-art telecommunications and extensive international linkages through government and other networks. The ACT is already
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