• Cutting payroll tax
• Creating a Red Tape Reduction Taskforce
• Introducing new evaluation criteria for tenders that puts a weighting against whether the tenderer is a local SME or involved with local businesses
• Establishing a single entry point for business interactions with the ACT Government; and
• Establishing a Government Navigator Program for SMEs to connect easily with expertise within government.

The strategy is underpinned by a focus on support for investment and innovation with specific initiatives to build strong partnerships between government, business and education institutions. This includes:

• Expanding InnovationConnect to support early-stage business innovation and commercialisation
• Providing new funding for clean tech and sustainability oriented companies
• Funding a feasibility study in the creation of a best-practice business incubator
• Creating a My Digital City Innovation Prize, encouraging Canberrans in the development of new digital government services
• Creating the Global Connect Program, as a single portal for trade development activities supported by the ACT Government
• Providing an extra $500,000 to the Canberra Business Development Fund
• Supporting entrepreneurs through mentoring, advice and, where appropriate, seed funding; and
• Doubling the funding of CollabIT to assist the development of SMEs in the information technology sector.

The full strategy is available here. I’ve also put a copy up on Scribd here.

Not only has the acceptance of local government grown, but the mantra of “all politics is local” has been replaced by the politics of the personal.

Canberrans these days want their personal stories heard, understood and acted on. The ACT Labor team is focused on helping to grow a stronger community and ACT Labor’s Mary Porter in Belconnen has set the standard through her continual community engagement and tireless efforts to address constituents’ personal issues. It is a lesson that all of us as candidates in the forthcoming ACT election should take heed of.

I’ve been out campaigning now for a couple of months and it’s interesting to see how people are willing to engage on issues that are important to them. I believe people are talking with us because they trust the ACT Labor team to do something about their concerns.

Each story is important and our team is focused on listening and helping. We provide each person with acknowledgement of the matter and where possible background information. We then work with established services such as Canberra Connect and Fix My Street to follow up residents’ concerns and let them know the outcome.

We may not be able to solve every issue, but people really appreciate someone listening and helping them understand what services are available.

ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Katy Gallagher, has invited Canberrans to provide feedback on the proposed upgrade.

Fetherston Gardens, which opened in 1974, was part of the former Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) School of Horticulture in Weston. The gardens are named after the first and longest serving head of the school, Tony Fetherston. The gardens consist of a well-established arboretum, woodlands garden and an enclosed ‘secret garden’.

Following the closure of CIT’s Weston campus in 2002, the gardens ceased being used as a purpose-built educational facility. However, the site has retained more than 200 trees that include many unusual species used for training purposes during its CIT period.

Ideas for the upgrade include:

• Picnic areas
• Additional seating
• Shelters
• Enhanced landscaping
• New footpaths
• A small play space
• Improved lighting
• Extension of the existing stone wall and relocation of the existing sun dial to a more prominent place within the park as a memorial to Tony Fetherston, the first and longest serving head of the school, whom the gardens are named after.

“The ACT Labor Government is committed to improving the urban amenity of our city and the protection the local environment, for the benefit of all Canberrans and to maintain our high standard of living,” the Chief Minister said.

“The ACT Government has been working with the Weston Creek Community Council and the Friends of the Fetherston Gardens to bring the Gardens back to a condition where it can be used by the community,” the Chief Minister said.

“The Weston Creek Community Council has also been proactive in coordinating regular volunteer working bees to remove weeds and maintain the garden beds.

“The proposed Fetherston Gardens upgrade is an example of the ACT Labor Government’s commitment to investing in the beautification of Canberra.

The Concept Plan is available online at http://www.tams.act.gov.au/ as well as the Woden and Civic Library and the Woden Shopfront, while feedback can be provided at http://www.timetotalk.act.gov.au/

Community feedback closes at 5 pm on Wednesday 2 May 2012.

Work has commenced in Ngunnawal, Amaroo & Gungahlin with the rollout to continue in the next 12 months in Amaroo, Crace, Franklin, Gungahlin, Harrison, Lyneham, Mitchell, Ngunnawal, Nicholls, Palmerston and Watson.

According to the ABS, “Smoothing seasonally adjusted series reduces the impact of the irregular component of the seasonally adjusted series and creates trend estimates.” Further info is available on seasonal adjustments and trends here.

If the current trend continues, we will continue to see solid growth in the housing sector through 2012.

Snowy Hydro SouthCare Fund – Snowy Hydro SouthCare Fund Building

Territory and Municipal Services – Canberra Avenue Bus Priority Measures and Cycle Lanes

West Belconnen Health Cooperative Ltd – Focused Aged Care Primary Care Services

The full list of projects is located here.

I am very honoured to have been preselected as a candidate for ACT Labor in Molonglo at the 2012 Legislative Assembly election.

My aim is to bring fresh ideas, energy and experience to the ACT legislative assembly as part of the Labor Government’s 4th term. I advocate a future for Canberra based on innovation, integrity and inclusion.

I will campaign for:

• Sustainable Prosperity – I am committed to continuing the work of leading Canberra towards a sustainable and prosperous future. I believe that economic growth and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive. Fostering clever and sustainable local businesses will keep ideas and talent in Canberra and create jobs for our children. Taking a long term approach to the policy decisions of today will shape a better future for Canberrans tomorrow.

• A New Economy for Canberra – Our economy, community and environment cannot be considered in isolation. Diversifying our economy will play a key role in developing sustainable prosperity for all Canberrans. We need to continue to develop our private sector to create an expanded and vibrant economy that will enhance Canberra’s standard of living and create jobs in industry sectors such as education, information technology and tourism.

• Social Inclusion – In life there are many transitions that that can bring crises and challenges. At these moments we need to feel that we are part of a supportive community. Social inclusion is central to my political beliefs. That is why I am on the Board of Common Ground Canberra, an organisation developing a supportive, innovative, inclusive and permanent housing model to help end homelessness and provide affordable housing in Canberra. I am also committed to ensuring there is appropriate choice and quality available in aged care housing and services while maintaining the dignity of older members of the community.

After a 25 year career in the public service and private sector, I understand the unique characteristics that drive our economy. My work with the Common Ground, CollabIT – an industry collaboration cluster, the Canberra Business Council Innovation Taskforce, Civil Liberties Australia and the Australian Republican Movement has shown me how community engagement can and does make a difference.

I look forward to listening to the needs, ideas and challenges of people within the Canberra community over the next 10 months and urge people to contact me on:

Phone: 02 6162 0062 (option 1)

Email: david@davidmathews.com.au

Twitter: davidmmathews

There is a link to the Community Engagement site which provides a snapshot on the various activities going on around the Territory, and a great feature where Cabinet summaries are provided online.

A range of ACT Government data is also available via the www.data.gov.au site. This provides info on an eclectic range of services and facilities including the location of public toilets & bbqs, the suburb of residence of students attending different ACT public schools, and journey planner data for ACTION buses. Hopefully the scope and scale of this information will grow exponentially over the next few years.

Work is already under way to deliver the NBN to 6,000 premises in Gungahlin, but that will grow to over 20,000 during the next 12 months. A detailed map of the rollout location will be provided by NBN Co in January next year.

NBN Co Chief Executive Mike Quigley said:

“We’ll be publishing regular updates about where precisely the NBN is being rolled out and when it will reach each area. Public education activity, to launch next year, will also explain what the rollout will mean for every Australian, how to connect to the network and why it is important that the nation upgrades its telecommunications infrastructure.”

This is again great news for Gungahlin, which has suffered from poor broadband services over the past 16 years. The commitment will help deliver improved education and health services while providing Gungahlin with new economic opportunities.

Further info can be found on the Federal Government’s site, www.nbn.gov.au and on the NBN Co website, www.nbnco.com.au.

Senator Kate Lundy opened proceedings, foreshadowing minor amendments and suggesting:

“…the purpose of this bill is to remove the power of the executive to overturn territory legislation behind closed doors without a parliamentary process. This has become known as the power of veto, if you like, over territory legislation. It is an executive mechanism that we in the Labor Party agree does not accurately reflect the status, the capability and the maturity of either the ACT assembly or the Northern Territory parliament.”

Senator Lundy also noted the broader scope of an examination of the ACT Self-Government ACT:

“Through the course of the inquiry into this bill many comments were made, particularly by the opposition, recognising that it was time for a broad update of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act. That recognition was across the board. In speaking to this bill as an ACT senator, I tend to agree. In fact the ACT government and Chief Minister have for some time been saying that it is probably time for an update of and a closer look at the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act, given that it came into force back in 1989.”

It is indeed time we had a comprehensive review of the Self-Government Act. The ACT’s ability to set its own laws without the threat of executive veto is only one element of what should be an extensive review into governance of the ACT.

The Opposition went on to oppose the bill yesterday, with Senator Gary Humphries more interested in attacking Senator Bob Brown and the Greens’ leader’s reason for putting this legislation to the Parliament than he was in debating the merits of the Bill and its fundamental change to the democratic rights of electors in the ACT. Senator Humphries is struggling in no man’s land on this question – on the one hand he has supported Territory rights in the past, yet yesterday he said he could not support:

“…piecemeal legislation designed more for political purposes…”

Senator Humphries argued that he knew what people in the ACT wanted and that he did:

“…not think they want the institution of self-government to be toyed with by federal politicians.”

So while Senator Humphries thinks the bill is about federal parliament toying with self-government, he is happy to reject a bill that gives the democratically elected ACT Legislative Assembly the ability to decide its own laws without the possibility of a federal Minister knocking down legislation at the stroke of a pen.

Senator Humphries accuses Labor and the Greens of playing politics, yet he’s happy to ensure the democratic rights of the people he represents continue to suffer because of his own party’s petty political point scoring.

Government is about reform by degree and this bill goes some way to providing equitable rights to the people of the ACT. A broader examination of the ACT Self-Government act should follow.

The full text of the debate is available here.