Page 5011 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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something that we will be pursuing in the next week—a team of ACT exporters will be heading to the United States to tap into the US government services market. That market is over a trillion dollars. It is larger than the Australian economy, and there are a number of ACT businesses that are exceptionally well placed to grow in the significant US market.
Exports are clearly the future for this economy, particularly in the services sector. We will continue to support those businesses that are seeking to grow their export market and to have policy settings that facilitate that to put in place a framework for small business to grow and for the ACT’s comparative advantages to be taken advantage of.
MS PORTER: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Minister, will the ACT government continue to have policies that strengthen the ACT economy?
MR BARR: Yes, and I think it is important that we maintain an appropriate balance between government intervention and market forces in relation to setting our policy framework. I certainly do note that there are a number of calls for significant government intervention in relation to the ACT economy. I think that would be a misguided and wasteful effort. What is important is to ensure that the broader macroeconomic policy settings are correct, that we have in place the right pricing signals and the right opportunities for businesses to grow. That is what is important, not seeking to micromanage and have industry plans, not seeking a return to the sort of economic policy that dominated Australian policymaking in the 1950s and 1960s.
It is an open trading economy that we live in, one that the ACT is very well placed to take advantage of. We should be export focused. We should not be meddling in individual industry plans, and we certainly should not be adopting the idea that government is going to be setting industry plans, command economy style, into the future. I absolutely and utterly reject that as a policy framework for the territory economy. The ACT will continue to pursue reforms, microeconomic reforms, that enhance competition within markets and ensure that ACT businesses are positioned to succeed.
MR SMYTH: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, are your policies leading towards market equilibrium, given your interest in the market?
MR BARR: In relation to which market, I would ask, Mr Speaker? Overall, the government’s policy settings are about ensuring, firstly, that the broader macroeconomic settings facilitate business investment and growth and ensuring that, where there are supply-side constraints within the territory economy, we are working to alleviate those. There are a number and we are working to ensure that supply-side
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