Page 3496 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 21 September 2005
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Migration, as I have said, is a critical source of skilled labour for the ACT. The Treasurer, no doubt, will get up and talk about the government’s business migration scheme, but we need to look beyond the business migration scheme. Around the world, governments are seeing migration as an effective means of increasing the skill levels of the work force generally, of addressing specific skills shortages that might be impeding economic growth and of countering the effects of having an ageing population.
The ACT must become innovative to compete with other attractive locations for the best skilled migrants. We need to get the message out there that this is a good place to operate and a good place to live. We are behind the eight ball repeatedly in terms of international tourism because we are simply not well known and Canberra is not recognised as a place that people would particularly want to go to. We all know, those of us who live here, that the city has many inherent qualities, but it is important, firstly, that the territory is managed sensibly and, secondly, that we make it popular and appealing to younger people to try life in this city.
In the remaining time I have, I would just draw attention to a city that has taken a far more proactive view than the ACT government. I refer to what has been done in Adelaide. There are action plans for trying to encourage young people into that city. Dr Foskey will be delighted to hear about the affordable rental housing program there, the online rent and youth accommodation register, the strengthening of the city’s work force with the city youth traineeship scheme, and the city young employer of the year award.
A host of other things are taking place, such as the early sessions scheme, Adelaide City Council’s plan to encourage city workers to stay on and attract young people to the city between the hours of 5.00 and 8.00 pm on weekdays during the months of November to March. The social side of the city is something that Adelaide realises is an important factor in getting young people to enjoy life there and to settle in those communities and therefore provide a valuable work force, an economic force, for the community. The gap year initiative there is another thing that we ought to be looking at in the territory. It encourages people to come to that city, backpackers and students, taking a year off from formal education to be attracted to South Australia and enjoy the benefits of that community.
There is so much that this territory government should be doing, with a bit of imagination, to promote the qualities of our city, to enhance the operating environment for business and to ensure that the future economic position of the ACT is well secured. I know that Mr Quinlan will move an amendment that really just pats him on the back and says that the government is doing a wonderful job. We will not improve things in Canberra, we will not address that need for growth in our population if we sit back on our laurels and simply say that we are doing a wonderful job here and we cannot do any better.
We heard earlier today the notion that you must stop the process of reform and improvement: “Don’t change the industrial system because we are happy with where it is.” In fact, Australia is prospering because we are having far-reaching economic reform and Canberra as a city, the ACT as a jurisdiction, has to embrace the same philosophical view.
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