Page 128 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
organisations, including 12,000 international students, demonstrating the strength of our education exports. There is also a similar number of interstate students.
This generates billions of dollars for the ACT economy. One in nine Canberrans are either employed by or attend one of our tertiary education institutions, and the government is committed to ensuring these organisations can continue to thrive and continue providing a world-class education. This will allow the sector to attract students, staff and academics to Canberra and provide more job opportunities in the territory.
Canberra is renowned for its strength in knowledge-based smart industries, including government services, information and communications technology, space and the spatial sector, and defence security and cyber security. The ongoing strength of these industries, which have public and private sector applications, underpins the economic and social wellbeing of our community and requires the ACT to build and retain a skilled workforce with the ability to engage, particularly with science and technology.
Our government’s on-the-ground approach to innovation, as demonstrated by the establishment of the CBR Innovation Network, is already reaping rewards. I note that many members here went to the final monthly event of the CBR Innovation Network. I know that many members of the opposition were there, which was great. I did not see the opposition leader asking the government to retreat from the CBR Innovation Network.
Just recently the department of industry’s chief economist released a new report on innovation in Australia, with Canberra retaining its position as one of Australia’s leading areas of high-innovation activity. Nothing could demonstrate more the strength of diversifying the economy than Canberra leading the nation on high-innovation activity.
The commonwealth defence white paper released earlier this year committed the commonwealth government to spend $17 billion of defence’s capital budget on the development of capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space, electronic warfare and cyber security. Canberra has a significant capability in these areas and we have appointed former ACT senator Ms Kate Lundy as the ACT’s defence industry advocate, building on her local industry advocate role, with a clear remit to maximise the benefit to Canberra’s economy from this federal government expenditure.
Just recently, I was at the UNSW Canberra campus to announce $750,000 in funding for two projects to support the development of the space and cyber security sectors in Canberra. UNSW Canberra will receive $375,000 for the development of a space mission design facility. This ACT government commitment to establish the facility will see additional funding of $425,000 from UNSW Canberra for a total project funding of $800,000. In the second project, UNSW Canberra and ANU will jointly receive $375,000 for the development of space-based quantum communications.
These projects cement Canberra’s leadership in the space and security sectors and will ensure that Canberra receives a significant proportion of the $17 billion that the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video