The past two days has shown a different side of Canberra to the rest of Australia, and indeed parts of the rest of the world. The Bush Capital, the metonymical expression of government and bureaucracy, the planned city, the peopleless place divorced from reality, the good sheep station spoiled, the city without a soul and the suburbs in search of a centre were all put to one side.
In their place was the city of entrepreneurial spirit and creativity. The city and region were showcased in the Focus on Business conference.
The ACT now has the best economic figures of the eight jurisdiction in the nation. It also has the best figures on many social indicators. Employment, economic growth, education retention rates, life-expectancy and many health indicators point to the ACT good performance and good prospects to come. Several factors have caused this, and success has many authors.
Prime Minister John Howard has to take some credit for at least being a catalyst for change. When he came to office in 1996 he accelerated the reduction in the public sector and public-service employment begun by the Keating Government. Public administration was the regions major industry. It meant that many Canberrans had to contemplate leaving the city or starting in new employment. Many left full-time employment in the Public Service and began their own small businesses, often contracting their services to the very areas of government they had left.
The Howard Government, however, can only claim to be the catalyst. The success of the transfer has other seeds. The ACT’s high education level was critical in equipping people to be flexible and adapt. In other parts of Australia where the main industry has left, the towns and cities have gone into stupor and decline. That higher education level can be put down the diligence of several generations of parents who moved to Canberra with the Public Service.
Perhaps one of the biggest lessons of Canberra successful transfer to a more entrepreneurial outlook is to give people a broad education with a concentration on basic research, the liberal arts and the scientific method. Narrow vocational training is a worthwhile addition but no substitute.
Canberra has also been blessed with good infrastructure, clean air and water and environment generally and a city that works reasonably well because it is planned. But these things have to be nurtured because they are good for business and good for the lives of people in the city. It would be tragic is Canberra’s transition to a more entrepreneurial city resulted in these things being devalued by some copycat mentality.
Mr Howard – basking in the latest growth figures for Australia — told the conference that while Australia could learn from overseas experience, there was no need for Australia to copy anyone else’s model for success and that other countries could learn from Australia’s success. Similarly, for Canberra. There is no need for Canberra to aspire to be another Sydney or Melbourne. There is much other places can learn from Canberra – as the Focus on Business conference revealed.
Also, business cannot flourish without good government. Government has to be lean and effective in doing things that the private sector cannot or will not do – particularly health, education, police and transport and telecommunications infrastructure.
The ACT is reasonably well-governed. Mistakes have been made and improvements can be made. A can-do, short-term approach is no substitute for sound administration. Canberra has a legacy to nurture as well as a future to enjoy.