Page 511 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 May 1992

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Positives

• the population of Canberra and Canberras role as the centre of the southeast region;

• the levels of skills and education of the ACT workforce (including importantly women with school age children), making it well suited to high technology and/or tertiary activities (e.g., computing, educational services, consulting services of various types, engineering, financial, medical, legal etc); .

• the established infrastructure (especially communications, transport,

and convention facilities) and the institutions which could assist greater

private sector activity (such as universities, the High Court, the ANSI,

CSERO and several government research bureaus);

• the natural and man-made attractions which make Canberra a popular tourist destination, either directly (Parliament House, the War Memorial etc) or indirectly (a stopover en route to the snow), plus accommodation facilities; and .

• the high average incomes of the population, hence boosting demand for goods and services;

Negatives

• the cosseted environment of the ACT hitherto and the non business (in earns cases anti business) attitudes which are common;

• the high cost, high tax, tightly regulated environment of the ACT economy which makes successful business establishment and operation difficult;

• the hostile industrial relations .environment which makes fostering cooperative "we and us" (not "them sad us") relationships between workforce and management difficult; the prevalence of old style unionism and class struggles;

• the excessive involvement of government in activities which should be the domain of the private sector (and, more recently, the threat of this increasing - e.g., lead development); sad

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