Page 678 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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driving a strategic approach to innovation and diversification. The network has an opportunity to reach out to a wide variety of stakeholders, both big and small, right across the territory economy. The innovation network will also play a major role in the delivery of the government’s digital agenda. Not only will it promote digital technology as a driver of innovation but it will project our city’s digital credentials both nationally and internationally.
Our city is a knowledge city. We are all well aware that the higher education and research institutions in our city have a considerable impact upon the territory economy, but it is always helpful to have a recent report to put this in some perspective. The report from Deloitte Access Economics on behalf of the ANU and the University of Canberra found that the two universities, and just those two universities, directly and indirectly value-added approximately $1.7 billion per annum to the territory economy and created or hosted 11,494 full-time equivalent jobs. With over 38,000 students and nearly 5½ thousand staff, roughly one in nine Canberrans either work or study at one of these two institutions. When you add NICTA, the CSIRO, the University of New South Wales Canberra campus, the Australian Catholic University and the Charles Sturt University into this education sector it is worth around $3 billion per annum to the ACT economy.
As just one example of the ACT government’s practical support for this sector, I introduced legislation in the last sitting to amend the University of Canberra’s governing act to allow it to have a greater commercial and community presence as well as to develop its campus and provide greater educational and research opportunities. I have also signed a statement of strategic intent with the university vice-chancellor to demonstrate that our partnership will realise a cutting-edge, thriving and exciting campus for students, researchers and partner companies.
In my first update in 2013 I mentioned the success of a number of ACT-based proposals under the former Labor government’s innovation precinct program. Unfortunately, the Abbott government has abolished the program, but the potential is still there for the development of major new industry precincts in the territory. These include the space and spatial industry precinct at Mount Stromlo. It is an industry with huge potential around the world, with leading advanced instrumentation and technology centres present at Mount Stromlo.
The Canberra science innovation precinct at Black Mountain and the redevelopment of the CSIRO at Black Mountain, a $200 million redevelopment, will see the co-location of four existing sites, bringing together around 1,000 research staff into this precinct. The sporting commons and allied health precincts at Bruce, where the University of Canberra continues to develop its sports and allied health programs, are in this precinct. NICTA, which is now recognised internationally as the premier ICT research organisation, and its Canberra research laboratory are, as we know, undertaking world-leading and world-renowned ICT research activities here in the CBD. And the University of New South Wales Canberra campus, which has a major presence in the space and cyber security industries as well as very strong engineering credentials, is in this precinct. The UNSW Canberra space program will see satellites designed and built in the ACT and operating from the ACT.
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