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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 1969 ..

investment from the government, if anything at all, but will bring huge returns in growth, in employment, in fees and charges, in GST returns paid to the territory coffers.

The GST has fundamentally changed the way we should view government revenue. Ultimately the more economic activity there is in the ACT, the more GST revenue will find its way back here. In addition, we would also expect that the growth of these new industries will bring new people to our territory—people whose experience and expertise will provide a deeper and richer cultural context for the community in which we live.

Already I have released development plans for tourism, for motor sports, for the convention industry, for interactive entertainment, for defence support. There are more industry development plans to come. These development plans complement our policies. We have released some 16 policies thus far dealing with mental health, water, security, policing, community safety and education, among other areas. And there are more policies to come.

It is pertinent to focus on water for a moment. We believe it is imperative to secure the adequate and high-quality supply of water for the people of the ACT. To achieve this we would immediately start on the construction of a dam in the Naas Valley. On the basis of information provided from Actew, this option would cost less than piping water from Tantangara and, more importantly, we would be using our own water on our own terms and not be subject to the whims of New South Wales or other governments. Importantly, this project could be funded over the life of the dam without affecting the current budget.

We intend the community to fully understand our policies and our commitment to the future of Canberra and the ACT. We will not plunder the public purse, wasting money on useless reports and reviews. For a government that said there had been enough reviews and reports in the lead-up to the last election, we have seen this government spend around $4 million on the Canberra plan and its three supporting plans.

A Smyth Liberal government will not splurge around $12 million a year on consultancies. A Smyth Liberal government will not waste funds on a community inclusion board when those funds could be used to provide immediate benefits. There are far better uses for our scarce resources.

The ACT community—individuals, businesses, families and community organisations—will all know where they stand with respect to the Smyth Canberra Liberals when it comes to election day. There will be no three-card tricks; there will be no taking with one hand and giving with the other—just a succession of well-developed plans ready for implementation to build and secure Canberra’s future.

Our intention will be to determine how, as a community, we will work together to fund social services through diversity. We will achieve diversity through creativity. We will unleash creativity through empowering Canberrans, and we will empower Canberrans by providing the environment, the infrastructure, the government’s model and the confidence to build creative Canberra to create our shared future.

As Charles Landry, the author of The Creative City wrote:

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