Page 3421 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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we aim to build a new city, expressing the best hopes of our new society. It is a tribute to the hard work and toil of generations of Canberrans that today we can rejoice in recognition from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s regional wellbeing report that Canberra is ranked number one—number one among regions in the world’s most affluent countries.
Here is how the OECD report rated us against a set of nine criteria for wellbeing. In access to services, the ACT was rated 9.6 out of 10, putting it first in Australia of eight national regions and in the top 10 per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. In civic engagement, the ACT was rated at 10 out of 10, putting it first in Australia and in the top four per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. In education, the ACT was rated at 9.1 out of 10, putting it first in Australia and in the top 20 per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. In jobs, the ACT was rated at 9.6 out of 10, putting it first in Australia and in the top six per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis.
On the environment, the ACT was rated at 9.5 out of 10, putting it sixth in Australia and in the top nine per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. For income, the ACT was rated at 10 out of 10, putting it first in Australia and in the top four per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. In health, the ACT was rated at 9.9 out of 10, putting it first in Australia and in the top four per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. In safety, the ACT was rated at 10 out of 10, putting it first in Australia and in the top 30 per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis. In housing, the ACT was rated at 8.5 out of 10, putting it second in Australia and in the top 14 per cent of regions compared by the OECD analysis.
Overall we scored 86.2 out of 90. Nobody is perfect, Madam Speaker. While we would like to score the extra 3.8 points we missed, we rated best in the OECD.
That is not to say that there is not more work to be done. We have our share of social problems, and people are doing it hard. We need understanding or a helping hand to get through. I am sure the opposition will be quick to find further fault with Canberra, as the nay-sayers have always done. Nevertheless, let us take a long-term view for a moment and reflect on the achievement of Canberra.
Earlier I mentioned the visionaries that are part of the dream of creating this capital, not just as a monument but as a living city where families can grow and thrive. Some say the city was born of a political compromise out of a squabble between Sydney and Melbourne. There is an element of that, but this has always been the bigger dream of a better city, an Australian city in our unique landscape. For much of its history, the growth of Canberra has been driven by federal politicians, beginning with the fathers of federation and characters like King O’Malley who handled the mechanics of getting it started.
Sir Robert Menzies had his political ups and downs in Canberra before World War II. Resuming office after the war, he embraced the vision of Canberra that had been on the backburner for its first 50 years through world wars and depression. He finally moved the major departments from Melbourne and Sydney to be together in Canberra
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