Page 787 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
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Start-ups are largely driven by the younger generation, people in the 25 to 34 years of age bracket. These people are highly mobile. They want an innovative environment to live and work in, and also with good access to local cultural opportunities and a positive social atmosphere.
These things include working and living spaces that can be used by entrepreneurs and creatives, parks, cultural venues, great places to go and eat, good walking and cycling infrastructure, and good public transport—all the sorts of things that this government is working to deliver for this city so that we can ensure that the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs choose Canberra as the place they want to be, the place they want to take the risk and the place they want to create the investment.
One area we are particularly interested in is the night-time economy, because it is an important part of a creative city that we do have a night-time economy. That could be by supporting live music venues, our artists and our musicians, as well as the venues that can host these opportunities: restaurants, the hotel industry, the whole set of business opportunities that go together there. We do have some challenges in the night-time industry, and that is why I have been canvassing in this place for the need to deal with the tension between urban infill, the arrival of new residents into these vibrant areas and the potential for increasing complaints. We read about this in the Canberra Times recently: the potential for complaints as people start to see the other side of that vibrant economy, which is night-time noise. We need to do more to designate entertainment precincts, and to ensure that the building standards provide adequate insulation against noise, so that we can have that night-time economy whilst protecting the amenity of residents in the area.
Canberra, of course, has its world-class university system. That means we are well placed to tap into the virtuous circle that attracts new talent as well. The 2015 report Smart work in the ACT and region, produced by the globalisation and cities research program at the University of Canberra, with Regional Development Australia, shows how well placed Canberra is in relation to smart work.
Smart work builds upon the knowledge economy and the advancement of information and communications technology. Canberra is identified as having a strong base for smart work with its highly educated workforce and knowledge-based economy and higher rates of internet connection. That is an important point, of course—the higher rates of internet connection. Again we have seen reports this week that residents in the southern part of Canberra—south of the lake—struggle to get good internet connection. It begs real questions about the federal government’s strategy on internet rollout across this country.
Interestingly, the report from the University of Canberra identifies Gungahlin as a potential smart work hub for a number of reasons, including the capital metro light rail project. I would like to urge my local colleagues to convince their federal counterparts of the importance to small business of high-speed internet connections and the rollout of the NBN. It is a critical piece of infrastructure for this nation.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (4.10): In the 30 seconds remaining to me I will be very quick. Business in Canberra want three very simple things: they want to be able to
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