Page 3124 - Week 08 - Thursday, 16 August 2018
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These are just some of the priority initiatives detailed in the budget that will be delivered through the treasury portfolio in the year ahead. Each of these initiatives is another step in making our city fairer and providing more support for Canberrans in meaningful and practical ways.
Finally, in the economic development area of Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development, I am pleased to once again advise the Assembly that the ACT economy is growing the fastest among state and territory economies. We have one of the strongest economies in the country, and this is not happening by accident.
The government has made it a priority to invest in programs and initiatives in innovation, trade and investment to boost economic growth and to diversify our jobs space to benefit all Canberrans. In 2018-19 the budget has a series of initiatives to continue that important work.
We must continue to grow our economy by diversifying beyond the solid foundation that is the commonwealth: the commonwealth public service and commonwealth government procurement. This means building on the recent strong growth in education and in the research sector, as well as private sector growth that has created a range of new jobs and opportunities.
Our $9.7 million priority investment program delivered through this budget will support this work by investing in collaborative sector-building projects in partnership with industry and our higher education and research institutions across key sectors. These priority sectors include plant and agricultural sciences, defence, health, sports and active living, cybersecurity, space industries and spatial information, education pathways, and new energy.
These are sectors with significant growth potential which can attract new investment and jobs to Canberra. The majority of the funding delivered through the priority investment program will be provided on a competitive basis to collaborative projects or initiatives that will drive investment opportunities and help attract more strategic and globally significant companies to Canberra.
Just as important as growing our research and innovation sectors is growing our cultural industries. That is why the 2018 budget delivers a $5 million injection to establish the CBR screen fund to support the development of the ACT screen industry. This is the ACT government’s largest single commitment to the film sector in a decade and builds on the work of its predecessor, the screen production fund, which was delivered by the ACT government in collaboration with Screen Canberra.
From that experience the ACT government has confidence in Screen Canberra’s ability to manage this new fund, which will support local production and create more opportunities for our writers, directors, actors, musicians and film technicians to gain firsthand industry experience here in Canberra.
Mr Hanson: Any roles as an extra?
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