Page 14 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
We are investing in public transport. We will have a light rail network delivered by some of the world’s best companies moving thousands of Canberrans rapidly around the city every day, bypassing the interminable traffic jams facing other cities. Other major centres are recognising the undeniable benefits—from the Gold Coast, parts of Sydney and Newcastle. We cannot be left behind while other cities do what needs to be done to keep their residents moving.
Madam Speaker, we were the first jurisdiction in Australia to regulate ride sharing with new entrants delivering immediate cost and convenience benefits for people moving around our city. We are shaping the way our city grows to reflect our contemporary community—how and where people want to live. Canberra is undergoing essential urban renewal to improve our productivity, our livability and our economic competitiveness. We are creating jobs beyond the public service in construction, specialist services, start-ups, health care and knowledge economy sectors such as ICT, renewable energy and open data.
We are no longer solely reliant on the commonwealth or as susceptible as we have been in the past to savage cuts. Over the past two years we faced the toughest external economic environment in a generation. But this government’s efforts to support growth and to support jobs is why we have managed to turn the corner and rise from sixth to third amongst all Australian jurisdictions in economic performance in just one year. Economic growth in 2014-15 was double the rate of the year before and 3,300 new jobs were created. We are standing on our own feet as an independent economy with a strong and dynamic business sector.
Yesterday the health minister, the assistant health minister, the minister for small business and I turned the first sod on the start of a new teaching hospital on the University of Canberra campus. This means more beds for our health system while teaching the next generation of health professionals, many of whom were born and raised in Canberra. They will now have the opportunity to pursue their vocation in health while staying right here in our city.
We are taking Canberra’s public schools, which are already providing a great education for our children, and making them a transformational experience in each child’s life. We are abolishing bad taxes. Insurance tax will be completely gone by 1 July this year. Canberrans’ insurance bills are lower than they would otherwise be and that is on every insurance policy. That is on every insurance policy they have, because we are wiping out this bad tax.
We will continue to cut stamp duty. Stamp duty costs people tens of thousands of dollars every time they move. We are giving thousands of that back and will keep on doing so. For young families our policy makes it easier to move into a house with more room. Older Canberrans whose kids are moving out or starting families of their own are able to downsize while staying in their community. Lower stamp duty means you can more easily choose the house that is right for you for your time of life.
We have done the heavy lifting on tax reform to ensure that our revenue base is stable and that we are able to provide the world-class services that Canberrans deserve. Only
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video