Page 2126 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 5 June 2019
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the fact that they can no longer afford to live in our city, people who want to live here but cannot afford to. But, no, Ms Cody refuses to stand up for those Canberrans. Instead Ms Cody and her Labor colleagues are, shamefully, again trying to blame their revenue gouging on the federal government.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Disability, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety, Minister for Government Services and Procurement, Minister for Urban Renewal) (3.09): I thank Ms Cody for bringing forward this motion and providing us the opportunity to discuss secure employment in the ACT.
As the Chief Minister has highlighted in talking about the budget, the ACT economy is among the strongest, if not the strongest, in Australia, with combined economic growth of 12 per cent over the last three years supporting the creation of 3,200 new businesses and more than 16,000 jobs. Miss C Burch has left the chamber. The ACT’s $40 billion economy has been boosted by a significant increase in services exports, particularly in the higher education and tourism sectors. This is, of course, the result of continued investment by the ACT government in economic development and diversification to protect the ACT economy and create more good jobs for Canberrans now and into the future.
Yesterday’s budget outlined how the ACT government will continue to drive the diversification of Canberra’s economy through investment in the attraction and facilitation of major projects, like the proposed new University of New South Wales campus, growing exports in products and services. This investment is important to grow our economy and protect us from the shock of federal public service cuts. However, we recognise that this town does remain one where the public service employs more than one in three people.
The ACT government is the second biggest employer in Canberra, employing more than 21,000 full-time equivalent positions across the most diverse workforce of any government in this country. This figure is projected to grow by three per cent, to more than 22,000 full-time equivalent positions in the next fiscal year. That is something Miss C Burch might want to take a look at. That is more teachers, planners, ambos and police, to name just a few.
As we in this place know too well, there is no greater duty than the duty of public service. While there are many differences between the work of those elected to public office and the work of those who are employed as public servants, often our reasons for getting involved are very similar. Whether employed by the commonwealth or the ACT government, public servants work to serve their communities locally, nationally and even internationally. Often they are highly educated, bright and sought after. While we continue to diversify our economy in the ACT, there is no doubt of the important role those employed in the public service play in our region.
Where the starkest differences lie between commonwealth and ACT government workers is in the actions of their employers. For those employed by the ACT government, we have negotiated with our employees and their representatives in
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