Page 127 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 14 December 2016
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members about the role that government can play in the economy. Certainly, our economy is made up of many components.
The Chief Minister has outlined some of those, but it seems to me that the new Leader of the Opposition has a view that government should retreat from the economy, that government should be benign in the economy, that government—particularly this government—does not understand the components of the economy that drive growth and that provide jobs.
He obviously was not listening yesterday to Ms Cody herself who spoke about her own experience in small business and he does not understand that Labor people clearly understand small business. Labor people on this side of the chamber have run small businesses. They understand the importance to families and to workers of having a strong small business sector.
This government understands implicitly the strong need to diversify our economy, as the Chief Minister has outlined on many occasions and again this morning. It is one of the most striking features of the ACT economy, commented on not only by private sector peak groups in Canberra but around the country and by economists around the country.
We have every opportunity here for government to play an important facilitating role, an enabling role, and to partner. If the opposition continues to retreat, continues to be fiscally conservative, continues to believe that the government can play no important role in generating innovation, in generating jobs, in generating economic growth and opportunity, then I fear for the future of the ACT under any future Liberal government.
Speaking today about the economy, as the Chief Minister has said, we cannot have this debate without talking about the importance to the economy of our tertiary education sector. Madam Assistant Speaker, you know it very well. When we talk about the need to diversify our economy, our higher education sector is showing the way.
While the federal Liberal government cut public sector jobs and tried their hardest to move agencies out of town—I acknowledge the local opposition here to that; I hope they have some success, as I hope our federal members in the federal parliament do as well—this government is looking to create jobs and give Canberrans an opportunity to stay and contribute to our community.
Each time I attend an event in my role as Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research, there are a number of people who say to me that the opportunities now in Canberra through our tertiary education sector and through our private sector have never been there before. They have great faith that their children will be able to learn and work, grow businesses and thrive in our diversifying economy.
Our tertiary sector not only provides the skilled workforce necessary to drive our economy forward; it is a major employer in our city, as the Chief Minister has said, and a reason why so many people come here and stay. Each year, over 44,000 post-secondary students go through our universities and registered training
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