Page 1496 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
In Shanghai I also visited the Canberra Commerce Office. In 2005 the Hindmarsh Group established this office with financial assistance from the ACT government. The Canberra Commerce Office in Shanghai is conveniently located in Pudong and provides free short-term office space and services to ACT companies that want to explore opportunities in China. Besides officially opening the new Canberra Commerce Office, I also met with the mayor, who was very interested in the Canberra relationship and the opening of the representative office.
I also met with Mr Ren Zhengfei, the President of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. Huawei is the largest diversified ICT company in China and one of China’s emerging global brands. With current revenues of around $US11 billion and projections of 30 per cent revenue growth this year, it is a company to watch.
The six-day mission concluded in Shenzhen and I was pleased to be able to briefly address a gathering of around 250 Australian businesses that were there for an “Experience Australia” promotion organised by the Australian consulate-general and Austrade. It was a suitable way to end the business program and a great opportunity for our mission participants to network and learn from other Australian companies.
I would like to thank all those involved in the organisation of this mission, particularly Austrade and their staff in China and the many ACT officers who worked hard to make it a success. I would also like to thank the Australian Ambassador to China, Mr Geoff Raby, for his counsel and hospitality, and the senior Australian consular staff, Susan Dietz-Henderson in Shanghai and Sean Kelly in Shenzhen, for their support. I also thank the companies on the mission.
As all members of the Assembly know, the ACT, along with much of Australia, is in the grip of the worst drought on record. With inflows at 10 per cent of normal levels, our dams at around 30 per cent capacity and no certainty of a return to normal rainfalls, we are faced with the potential of running out of water in 18 months or so unless we find other water sources. The government has already invested heavily in the ACT’s water security, the Googong-Cotter transfer facility and the Murrumbidgee pumps being two examples. These solutions rely on rainfall which we all hope for but of which we cannot be certain.
In this context Actew have put forward their proposal to purify water. The government have made it clear that this project will only proceed if it can be scientifically shown to present no additional public health risks to the people of Canberra. We have established an independent expert panel to advise the government on the health aspects and have convened a roundtable of experts to discuss the issue. Through Actew we have made information available to the public through websites, display stands, advertisements and public fora. We have encouraged Canberrans to gain as much knowledge as possible about the project and to debate its merits.
Just as I encourage Canberrans to find out all they can, so I took the opportunity to learn what I could about the purification process in Singapore on my return journey from China. Singapore is considered to be at the forefront of water purification, using the technology as part of its mainstream water supply. Despite a completely different climate, including high rainfall, Singapore has similar water supply problems to those
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .