Page 1695 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 1 May 2012
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through its strengthening regional Australia initiative for a place-based strategy for the greater capital region. Importantly for the ACT and New South Wales governments, the mandate for the funding comes directly from the MOU signed by Premier O’Farrell and me. It is an endorsement of our own jurisdictional policy initiatives and early proof of the benefits of working together rather than in opposition.
Integral to the development of the regional directions statement and the greater capital region strategy, there will be three regional development Australia committees covering this region—our own ACT RDA and the two RDAs representing southern inland and the far south coast. The three RDAs are already working collaboratively on a number of initiatives and the insight they can collectively bring to this activity will be extremely valuable.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Yes, Mr Speaker. Chief Minister, what emerging opportunities can you identify in our second century?
MS GALLAGHER: I believe that the greater capital region, with Canberra as its economic and population heart, is a place of incredible opportunity. I imagine those opposite would support me in these endeavours, although I have not heard any response from them about the work that we are doing with the New South Wales government in this area. The benefits of working collaboratively not just across the New South Wales government but indeed across the council system as well I think could bring enormous benefits to the people of the ACT.
The business development strategy launched by the Deputy Chief Minister earlier this week is explicit about the importance of the ACT’s place not just as the nation’s capital but its importance as the heart of the region. That does not mean we are all the same; we are not. The ACT and the other population centres that make up our region each have their own strengths. For the ACT, it is our concentration of research institutions, our fantastic world-class educational and cultural institutions, our highly skilled and highly educated population and our connected and collaborative business community. We genuinely have become a hub city for a dynamic and growing region and the possibilities this creates are significant.
Beyond our borders, with the rollout of the NBN, there are opportunities to expand the reach of our fantastic hospitals, through e-health initiatives, and put our excellent educational and training institutions in contact with a regional network of providers and a broader regional market of students.
Through the RDA committees of the ACT I think there will be economic opportunities that will be identified and we can prioritise them through that work. The ACT and New South Wales governments will assess these opportunities and will support those initiatives which provide the greatest benefit for the capital region, regardless of where the borders might lie.
MR HARGREAVES: Supplementary.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hargreaves.
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