Growing Australia’s knowledge capital

National and international institutions are investing in Canberra because they see opportunity for growth and the willingness of government and the private sector to work together.

Recently, two major announcements on consecutive days showed how the ACT Government’s economic diversification policies are attracting major investment in our city.

Microsoft and the Canberra Data Centres will deliver high-scale cloud services out of a series of Canberra-owned and operated data centres in Fyshwick and Hume.

Meanwhile, the University of New South Wales Canberra announced the ACT Government will be working with it to build a major new campus on the eastern edge of our city.

This could bring life and investment to a new City East education precinct – adjoining Parkes Way and Constitution Avenue – and is another addition to Australia’s knowledge capital.

These two announcements are big statements of confidence in our city. They are city-building investments of the utmost importance and quality. They also play to our strengths in high education and innovation as we further diversify our economy.

These are investments that do not come by accident. They come from the ACT Government working closely with a number of national and international industry partners to deliver on this city’s potential.

Microsoft will deliver a world-class, secure and innovative open cloud platform that will ensure the digital transformation of Australian governments at federal, state and territory and local levels.

This investment shows Canberra is a hub for innovation in cloud technology and services in a sector that is becoming increasingly crucial for business, for individuals and governments around the world.

I have been saying for some time now that the higher education sector in Canberra cannot grow fast enough. We will continue to support all the higher education institutions in our city.

The announcement of a new campus for our city demonstrates that we are moving quickly to achieve these important policy outcomes and greater economic diversification Canberra.

The University of New South Wales Canberra has been here for 50 years. We will develop an MOU with the university and any expansion of their presence in our city will attract hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment to Canberra and create many jobs.

The higher education and research sector is already Canberra’s single largest export earner and has significant further potential in the ACT. It already contributes close to $3 billion annually and employs 16,000 Canberrans.

Both investments show that Canberra is continuing to become Australia’s knowledge capital.