Page 5198 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 29 November 2017
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(e) continuing to engage with the community on project specifics surrounding the Memorandum of Understanding with the University of New South Wales Canberra regarding a possible new campus for up to 10 000 students; and
(f) the commencement of international flights from Qatar Airways as the ACT Government continues to work towards its goal of growing the visitor contribution to the ACT economy to $2.5 billion by 2020; and
(3) calls on this Assembly to, where appropriate:
(a) promote Canberra’s achievements and highlight the range of opportunities that exist for private investment; and
(b) inform itself of positive economic data and other indicators to avoid inadvertently and incorrectly risking investment and confidence in our city’s performance.
2017 has been a great year for our city. The achievements made are a testament to the work of the community, businesses and the government. People across our city have put enormous work into the different projects that have made 2017 such a fantastic year for Canberra. Our economy remains strong and this year we have seen a fall in unemployment. 2017 has seen record growth for our city that will only continue.
Our government is investing in Canberra to ensure that we can accommodate this growth. We are building for the future, with new transport options, schools, hospitals and renewable electricity. The partnership between community organisations, government and businesses has turned Canberra into a tourist destination. Do not just take my word for it, though; iconic travel magazine Lonely Planet agrees.
Canberra is a progressive and welcoming city, recording the highest yes vote in the marriage equality survey of any jurisdiction. All these achievements make me immensely proud to be a representative of our wonderful city.
The ACT’s economy is strong and continuing to grow. The economic management of our government has ensured this, despite continuous cuts to the public service under the federal Liberal government. We in the Labor Party know that cuts do not create jobs. From the beginning of the year until October, employment increased by 3.1 per cent. That means an extra 6,700 people are now in work. Of those jobs, 3,900 are full time whilst 2,800 of them are part time. Our unemployment rate, at 3.8 per cent, remains well below the national average of 5.4 per cent. It has continued to decline throughout the year.
The youth unemployment rate in the ACT decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 9.9 per cent in October of this year, and by 2.4 percentage points over the past 12 months. This remains below the national average of 12.1 per cent. This fantastic result has been achieved by the partnership between this government and local Canberra businesses.
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