Page 3806 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014

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(v) that the ACT Government’s prudent economic management, of running 10 surplus budgets, has created the fiscal capability to respond to economic shocks such as the Global Financial Crisis;

(w) that the ACT Government is supporting the private sector in the ACT to grow and create jobs through the continued implementation of the Business Development Strategy;

(x) that the Government is fostering growth and innovation in our economy through programs such as the CBR Innovation Network, Invest Canberra, Study Canberra and the CBR Canberra brand;

(y) the impact that the Commonwealth’s cuts to employment and expenditure are having on the ACT economy, including reducing employment by 2.9 per cent; and

(z) the ACT Government’s continued focus on supporting the economy and employment in response to the Commonwealth’s cuts;

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) maintain confidence in the ACT economy through its plan to support the ACT economy and support jobs;

(b) continue to assist the ACT’s private sector to grow and diversify;

(d) encourage the Commonwealth to reverse its cuts to the Australian Public Service.”.

It presents a more accurate representation of the territory economy than Mr Smyth has managed in his motion and in his 15 minutes of talking the place down.

Let us go quickly to the state of the states report that was released by CommSec last week, and let us be clear about what it measures. It assesses states and territories on their current performance compared to their own long-term average. So the rankings that they issue are more of an indication of where states and territories are in their economic cycles than they are an assessment of underlying economic strength.

An example of this is that the October CommSec report refers to the ACT coming last in terms of unemployment. However, we have the lowest unemployment in the country. So you can choose to look at this as a positive. I think it is a positive that we have the lowest unemployment in the country. Mr Smyth chooses to present that as a negative. That is disappointing, but such is life.

Let us talk about the positives of our economy, and they are in the amendment I have moved. The OECD last month named Canberra as the most livable city in the world, ranking us 10 out of 10 for safety, civic engagement and income, 9.9 out of 10 for health and 9.6 out of 10 for jobs. The Property Council in their survey earlier this year rated Canberra as Australia’s most livable city according to residents’ views of their own city.

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