Page 3420 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 September 2015
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That is really important. I am sure the Chief Minister would agree that the relationships go beyond the professional. The Chinese officials I have met have been absolutely delighted—I am sure the Chief Minister would agree—with the relationship we have and they see it as far beyond the commercial. It is about culture, meeting with people, enjoying their company and benefiting from having each other’s company.
The Chief Minister goes on to say there is a real opportunity. His statement says:
Discussion also focused on the opportunities presented following the recent completion of negotiations for a China-Australia free trade agreement. The agreement presents major trade and export opportunities in the tourism, education, healthcare and professional services sectors. Each of these fields present significant opportunities for the ACT's private sector and research partnerships, and they complement the ACT government's high-level priorities of transport reform, ongoing urban renewal and continuing work to build Canberra as Australia's premier knowledge capital.
It is important that we do all of those things. The final line I will quote from the Chief Minister’s statement is:
The Canberra-Beijing sister city relationship continues to be a fruitful and rewarding one for both cities.
And so may it be. With that comment in mind, paragraph (3)(a) of my motion calls on the government to affirm the motion presented by the former Chief Minister Kate Carnell in 2000 to establish the Canberra-Beijing sister city relationship. I believe I am the last member still in this place who actually voted for that motion. There were some who were here who chose not to vote, but I am very proud I was here when it happened. It was groundbreaking, and we can see now, 15 years later, the success the Chief Minister is seeing with the business community that it was a good and worthy thing to do.
It is important that we reaffirm as an Assembly the motion presented by the former Chief Minister that this Assembly agrees to the ACT government signing a sister city proclamation with the Beijing Municipal People’s Government for Canberra and Beijing to enter into a sister city relationship.
Part (3)(b) of my motion calls on the government to continue to progress the sister city relationship to foster trade, education, cultural and tourism opportunities between our two cities. They are simply the Chief Minister’s words, so I am sure he will support his own words. Part (3)(c) calls on the government to support the China-Australia free trade agreement as part of the ACT’s high level priorities in transport reform, ongoing urban renewal and continuing work to build Canberra as Australia’s premier knowledge capital. Again, they are the Chief Minister’s words which we are happy to support and which tie into a motion that I think brings together the relationship, the new China-Australia free trade agreement and the future of both cities.
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