Page 1766 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2006
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Our economic future
Mr Speaker, governments do not exist for their own sakes, but to serve their communities and support them.
One important role of government is to create an environment that is welcoming to business, an environment in which red tape is kept to a minimum, in which taxes do not act as a disincentive, in which excellence and innovation are rewarded, in which opportunities are created for those willing and able to take them.
Canberra may have begun its life as a public service town, but six out of every 10 of our jobs are now in the private sector. The balance has shifted. It will shift more in the future.
Since coming to office, and in particular since the release of the economic white paper, Labor has provided real and meaningful assistance and support for business, helping to attract and encourage entrepreneurs to our community, and helping them develop and flourish once they are here.
It has worked. Since Labor came to office the number of small businesses in town has grown steadily. We now have the highest concentration of knowledge-based industries in the country and boast more than 1,000 ICT firms. In 2004-05 home-grown exports hit an all-time high of $763 million.
The feeling of energy and optimism in the business community is greater now than it has been for years.
We are enjoying a commercial construction boom unequalled in the period of self-government.
We have secured NICTA for the territory.
The government is delivering a refreshed and reinvigorated convention centre.
We have listened to business in this town. We are still listening, and what we are hearing is that strong business growth has meant that needs have moved on.
Again and again, business is now telling us that the biggest challenge confronting them now is not getting off the ground, but finding the world-class, skilled workers that will let them reach their growth potential.
They are telling us what they want from government is sound economic management, strong fiscal policy, a responsive and efficient public service, an easing of regulatory complexity, and a more streamlined planning system.
In this budget, that’s what we deliver.
Today, the government sharpens its focus, taking the emphasis off grants-based support for individual businesses, and putting it squarely on creating the kind of environment that
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