Page 1440 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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sectors such as housing and retail activity. We value the people of Canberra, we care about the small business owners and we want to see the private sector flourish.
The ACT government remains committed to support and investment in our digital economy through creating a digital Canberra. The forward-looking focus of digital Canberra is ambitious in nature with its staged rollouts of free wi-fi to areas of the ACT and the digital footprint in the heart of the CBD. Digital Canberra will improve the economy’s existing advantages while assisting businesses and local communities through the digital Canberra fund, innovation challenges and ICT capacity-building workshops.
The five priority projects under the digital Canberra action plan will help take forward the ACT’s digital agenda through partnering with the community, business and across government. These projects are: free public wi-fi across town centres and public spaces; creating the largest free public wi-fi network in Australia where users will experience free services similar in speeds to the 3G network; Garema Place will be re-established as a digital space with a digital screen and innovative hub, with applications having until 30 April to respond to the request for proposal; and science, technology, engineering, mathematics internships for young people to connect with real-world experiences in innovative industries, helping create a STEM culture. There is no doubt that funding these projects will boost Canberra’s digital economy.
The government’s ambitious vision is equally present in the physical infrastructure projects I mentioned—in particular, the city plan. The government has released the final version of the city plan, which provides a large step forward in the transformation of our city centre. The Chief Minister presented the project to investors in China last month as part of the Prime Minister’s trade delegation, and the Deputy Chief Minister will be doing the same in Singapore and in Hong Kong in June.
It is a plan to guide decision making for public and private sectors and encourage the next phase of our city centre growth—a process already well underway. It will steer the city centre towards a commercial and cultural hub which both our city and regional communities have said it ought to be and, most importantly, it will help bolster our economy in the coming years.
Capital metro will have similar transformative and economic benefits. It is not only a transport solution; it is a city-building project—a major capital investment which delivers against other key priorities: a catalyst for economic growth and development, with a major uplift effect along the corridor; a centrepiece in the transformation of the city centre; a driver of commercial growth in Gungahlin town centre; a more active, healthy and affordable transport option for Canberrans; and a project which will pick up some of the spare capacity created by the completion of other major infrastructure projects.
While last night’s budget also delivered hits to health and education funding, the health and education sectors will remain an important part of the ACT economy, including as a regional hub for south-east New South Wales. The higher education sector makes a significant contribution to the ACT economy. The ACT government
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