Page 1823 - Week 05 - Thursday, 10 May 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
represents a full quarter of the money the federal government has committed to infrastructure in the ACT in this year’s budget. It is very clear to me that those on the hill do not care about the future of Canberra and Canberrans.
We all remember the trying times in the wake of Abbott’s severe public service cuts for several years from 2013. Canberra small businesses struggled to keep their doors open as the public service endured a severe hiring freeze and more and more insecure work was created. We thought we saw the end of the federal government undermining the public service it rests on when the former Prime Minister made his exit but, sadly, his successor has shown he is just as indifferent to the future of this city.
For our part, the ACT government will continue our efforts to build a thriving economy. We are supporting an increasingly diverse economy and we have seen strong growth in higher education, health care, professional services, ICT, defence, tourism and hospitality. But the fact remains that our efforts to create and sustain jobs in Canberra will be undermined by a poorly advised decision to move the APS elsewhere.
I thank Ms Cody for bringing forward this important matter today. No good has come or will come from the federal government’s efforts to debase the importance of Canberra as the centre of the federal public service. No good will ever come of it. Canberra was built for the Australian public service and is uniquely placed to ensure that Australian departments and agencies can provide the best support for the federal government.
Moving the APS from Canberra will only hurt everyone involved—from the federal government to the departments and agencies, to the diligent Canberrans working there, to the policies that guide our nation and, therefore, Australians as a whole. As long as decentralisation remains a live option, it adversely affects our great Canberra community. It is time the federal government showed some actual courage and ruled it out once and for all.
Discussion concluded.
End of Life Choices in the ACT—Select Committee
Statement by chair
MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (4.23): Pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Select Committee on End of Life Choices in the ACT. The select committee advertised for submissions to be lodged with the committee by the end of March 2018. In response to invitation addressed to the community generally and directly to a number of organisations and groups having an interest in this very important area, the select committee accepted 487 submissions—it is still considering a small number—which the committee understands is by a considerable margin a record for submissions lodged with an Assembly committee inquiry.
These submissions, which needed to be carefully assessed and considered by the committee before publication, are now published on the committee website. I invite
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video