Page 73 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 7 April 1992
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Madam Speaker, in this regard, it concerns me greatly that here we are poised to take advantage of some very real and substantial opportunities in the ACT, but this is continually hampered by overregulation, bureaucratic red tape and only lip-service to the notion of promoting Canberra and the region. Instead of creating an economic environment that will attract growth, the Government has set up a barrage of terms and conditions that achieves quite the opposite. Prospective developers and industries that wish to take advantage of the other great benefits of Canberra, such as its clean environment and an excellent pool of well-educated employees, run a mile when they confront the prospect of setting up here, and those that persist pay a heavy price.
I implore the Government to help and not hinder Canberra's growth opportunities. This is what I call a responsible approach to the future. The Government must streamline the process of approving new development proposals. The delays in this area alone are far too excessive. It is an absolutely ridiculous scenario that public servants disagree amongst themselves while the developer pays heavily for their, more often than not, petty deliberations about who is responsible for what. Payroll tax, Madam Speaker, is another burden for companies to bear. It stifles growth. While this, of course, is not unique to Canberra, it nevertheless is an insidious tax and clearly works against employment and progress. The Government must phase out this tax.
The ACT and the region can become one of the top tourist destinations in Australia. It can be the home of a great many exciting and innovative industries that can take advantage of the wealth of resources in the region and provide a much needed source of employment and vitality in the city. We can be the home of high volume, low mass, high technology production that can utilise our highly educated population. We can lead the country in urban planning by adopting the exciting and innovative urban village proposal for Gungahlin. We can be the cultural centre of Australia.
Madam Speaker, with all this for the taking, it disturbs me greatly that Canberra can be so divided on such important issues. Over the last week Canberra has been strangled by the ACTION bus dispute that did not have to happen. It was, and is, a short-sighted and selfish action by the TWU and it highlights a serious weakness in the consultation process.
Our future will have to be brought about by a strong partnership that will bring together all sectors of the community. It will require boldness, cooperation and a more than considerable dosage of commonsense. Above all, it will require a sense of responsibility that combines courage and vision, not caution and short-sightedness; not hindrance, but help and encouragement. For my part, I am at the ready to assist in a positive way.
Madam Speaker, I consider myself fortunate in having grown up during the Second World War in Holland, living through German occupation, my father being taken POW and my mother being left with eight children without social security. I know what it is like to be poor and to be hungry. I know the meaning of occupation and oppression. All of this was in my teens or formative years, where the pattern for the rest of my life was set. Since coming to this country in 1951, I have been both an employee and an employer and can see both sides of most arguments.
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