Page 5200 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 29 November 2017
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The current CIT campus in Reid will be updated and merge technical training with UNSW courses as the university grows, combining research and industry. This project will be enormously beneficial to Canberra and cement our place as the research capital of Australia. The expansion of UNSW will create numerous jobs across multiple industries and further diversify our economy.
On top of this, this government led a delegation to the 2017 International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide to promote Canberra as the nation’s leader in space and spatial technologies. Partnership between the government, the ANU, UNSW, the CSIRO and industry leaders can further develop our current capabilities in space research. Again, investment in new technologies will grow Canberra’s economy and ensure our competitiveness into the future.
Our government is expanding our healthcare system. The new University of Canberra public hospital and the recently announced funding for the Gungahlin walk-in centre will free up space in our existing healthcare system. This will mean shorter wait times for Canberrans and more options when accessing health care. As a Labor government, funding our health system will always be a top priority. All of these initiatives ensure that we are building a strong future for Canberra, with a strong economy and world-class services.
Infrastructure and industry are not the only areas of growth in Canberra. Tourism to our city is continuing to grow and will only improve in 2018. In this place we are not alone in thinking Canberra is one of the best cities in the world. Recently Lonely Planet recognised Canberra as one of the top three cities to visit in 2018, calling us “the coolest little capital”. Canberra has a unique mix of cultural institutions, amazing food and drink options, festivals and sporting events. This attracts a wide range of visitors, with a total of 221,000 visitors coming to Canberra over the past year, almost 10 per cent of them from overseas.
In 2018 Canberra will host its first test cricket match, at Manuka Oval, and the 100-year anniversary of the signing the Armistice, at the War Memorial. On top of this, large-scale events like Floriade, Enlighten, Summernats, Groovin the Moo, Spilt Milk—which I am almost certain I saw a few of you at over the weekend—and the National Folk Festival will all bring thousands of visitors to the capital, as well as a myriad of other smaller events too numerous to list now.
Increasingly, Canberra is becoming known for its food culture as more and more establishments open. The area surrounding Canberra is home to fantastic wineries and restaurants that are a further attraction to visitors. These businesses are fantastic investments by members of our community in Canberra’s future.
The upgrade to the Canberra Airport has allowed visitors from further afield easier access to our city. Tigerair and Singapore Airlines have added more choice for visitors. On top of this, Qatar Airways has recently announced that from 13 February next year it will have daily flights to Canberra. These expansions will allow our tourism industry to continue to grow and access new markets. Not only that; they will
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