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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4308 ..

The continued growth of Tuggeranong and reduction of the number of job seekers is reliant on a strong economy across Canberra. Canberra is too small to isolate areas. Indeed this is seen as one of the pluses of living in the ACT. It's size means it only takes a short amount of time to travel throughout Canberra to work or play, giving people more freedom to live and travel to where they please, quickly. The ACT is too small to compartmentalise and promote something in one area but not five minutes down the road.

Tuggeranong has a bright future, as I have shown in the information provided above.

But its future won't be decided by thinking simplistically that all we have to do is just get more businesses down there. First, we have to provide the right economic climate for local businesses to expand, for new ones to start up, and for interstate firms to want to come here and establish themselves. We have to promote Canberra, not just Tuggeranong.

Secondly, more demand for housing in the Valley is not a bad thing, in my view. If more people move there and want to live there, that helps local businesses which in turn, provides the foundations for new enterprises, more profitable ones and new job opportunities for local residents.

What we cannot do is just hope that there'll be more public service jobs to go around and that they should be in Tuggeranong. That's the horse that Labor backed and we all saw what happened to our economy when the Keating and Howard Governments began cutting back on the number of public servants."

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education) (4.26 am): I will be very brief, Mr Speaker, on something I thought we might have done before the end of the year, but we have not. I hope that the Assembly will join me in wishing all the best for Christmas and the New Year to our troops in East Timor, led by Major General Peter Cosgrove. They are doing a magnificent job. I hope that they will have a very good Christmas and all will return home safely. I hope that members of the Assembly will join me in that. Might I also thank members of the Assembly for the year and also thank my department and staff for their diligence.

MR HIRD (4.26 am): Mr Speaker, I share the sentiments expressed by my colleague Bill Stefaniak and extend them to the Australian Federal Police contingent in East Timor. I know all members would want to wish for them and their families seasons greetings and a great year 2000. I would like to thank my colleagues on this side of the room, on the other side and on the crossbench. We have had a lot of fun.

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