Page 3980 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 17 November 2015
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On the second day of the mission I met with Uber at their global headquarters to promote and provide an overview of the proactive and world-first regulations announced to support the implementation of ride sharing services in the ACT. Supporting the introduction of ride sharing is a prime example of the government’s commitment to creating the right business environment and, most particularly, supporting business innovation. Uber was keen to discuss the reforms and acknowledged the ability of the ACT government to design and implement these reforms in a relatively short period of time.
I then hosted a renewable energy roundtable event attended by leading US companies such as Tesla. I was joined at the roundtable by Canberra-based innovators and entrepreneurs, including Roger Price, the Chairman of Windlab, and Dr Keith Lovegrove of IT Power. The roundtable enabled me to outline specific investment programs being developed and implemented by the ACT government that support the future development of this sector. The roundtable provided the opportunity to promote local opportunities to invest in solar, wind and distributed battery storage projects. It was also an opportunity to promote closer collaboration of US companies with Canberra-based businesses in research and development activities.
Madam Speaker, the ACT government has the most aggressive renewable energy and emissions reduction targets in Australia, by a significant margin, and amongst the most aggressive targets in the world. The roundtable delegates were very keen to discuss the ACT’s renewable energy target of 100 per cent by 2025 and were overwhelmingly positive about the approach the ACT government has taken in sourcing renewable energy for Canberra. Following this meeting I delivered a keynote speech at a lunch hosted by the San Jose chamber of commerce to promote business-to-business engagement with enterprises in Canberra.
Madam Speaker, the delegation then turned its attention to Austin, Texas, where I met with Mayor Steve Adler, to learn how Austin established itself as a destination for multinational investment and technology innovation. The city of Austin has undergone rapid growth in the last two decades, going from a city the size of Canberra to one of the fastest growing cities in America. Austin is now home to more than 2,200 technology companies, employing 120,000 people. In addition to home-grown companies like Dell, Austin also hosts a number of large multinational employers including Apple, IBM, Microsoft, AT&T and Samsung.
Austin has created an ecosystem that welcomes early-stage companies and encourages their growth and diversification. World-class higher education and a first-rate quality of life attract and retain skilled people. A large part of Austin’s success is attributed to its proactive and leading tax policy. This is certainly an area Mayor Adler and I had productive discussions about.
As you are aware, Madam Speaker, since the 2012-13 territory budget, the ACT has been implementing a program of significant taxation reform, including the abolition of a range of volatile and inefficient conveyancing duties—over a 20-year period—and insurance duties, over a five-year period. The revenue lost through the abolition of these taxes is replaced through a simpler and fairer mechanism of municipal general rates levied on commercial and residential properties.
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