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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4306 ..

The 1996 Census (the most recent undertaken) also estimated that about 70 per cent of the jobs available in Tuggeranong were taken by residents of the district. What this means is that in 1991, only 17 per cent of Tuggeranong residents worked in jobs local to their area. In 1996, under the Carnell Government, this has increased to 22 per cent.

These represent further examples of the increasing number of business and job opportunities in the Valley.

In terms of business growth, Tuggeranong has been doing quite well. The latest 1999 Commercial and Industrial Centres Inventory by PALM estimated that there were 604 in businesses in the Valley that were providing retail and commercial services, of which 313 were in Greenway.

Under Labor back in 1993, there were only 506 businesses, of which 287 were in Greenway. Put simply, the number of businesses has grown by almost 20 per cent in the last six years, again with the support of the Carnell Government.

In Tuggeranong, employment opportunities have expanded significantly in recent years, again under this administration.

Examples include the expansion of the Hyperdome (170 new jobs at Target alone), the new Bunnings Centre (150 new jobs and $15 million investment) and a new Ansett Call Centre which will see 170 jobs created in the Valley in a $5 million call centre development.

Then of course, there is Tuggeranong's first motel and significant expansion by both the Southern Cross Club and Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union Club - both of these organisations have built new facilities in recent years.

We have a variety of programs to help and encourage businesses to expand and set up in the ACT, including a Business Incubator Scheme, New Futures in Small Business, Business Mentoring Program, and the Business Incentive Scheme. It has been a long-standing philosophy of this Government to promote business growth and we will continue to do that. Obviously, Tuggeranong is certainly a part of that and as such is enjoying population growth and job growth.

Then there is the issue of demand for new housing.

Labor has criticised this government for releasing new blocks in the Valley, claiming that the area is oversupplied. Yet the facts are that this government has not entered into one joint venture since 1995 because of the massive oversupply of blocks that we inherited from the previous ALP Government.

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