Innovation and Jobs Growth

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-98971

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Innovation and Jobs Growth

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (15:19:37):

My question is addressed to the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation. How is the Government creating better jobs to ensure that New South Wales stays at the forefront of innovation and change?

Mr MATT KEAN (HornsbyMinister for Innovation and Better Regulation) (15:20:21):

— I recognise that the member for Oatley is one of the most innovative members of this Parliament. We heard today about the great work that the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government is doing to create jobs in New South Wales, thus claiming the title as the true party of the worker. This Government has created nearly 400,000 jobs since 2011, which is more than any other State or Territory in the Commonwealth. We want to create jobs not only for today but also for tomorrow, which is why we are investing record amounts in innovation and creating the modern, dynamic twenty-first century economy that our State needs. We all know that our economy is in transition. We can no longer rely on the mining boom to create jobs and underwrite our prosperity.

Unlike the mining boom, investing in innovation and developing the talent of our people will create a boom that will last forever. That is why I was delighted to open the Sydney Startup Hub recently with the Premier and the Deputy Premier. The Sydney Startup Hub is an investment in our start-up ecosystem, creating a space that brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, start-ups and capital to collaborate and create opportunities. This $35 million investment by Jobs for NSW under the leadership of the Deputy Premier is supporting our start-up community, helping them to grow their businesses and setting them up for success. We are also establishing the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, which will ensure that the entrepreneurs of tomorrow will have the skills to create new businesses and create new jobs.

In addition, the New South Wales Government partnered with Austrade recently to send 10 local start‑ups to Tel Aviv to participate in one of the world's biggest and most sought after innovation festivals. The 10 start‑ups were from across our State and they were given the opportunity to be exposed to one of the leading innovation ecosystems on the planet in Israel. The start-ups were able to meet key business leaders, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, giving them the opportunity to grow and succeed. Their success is our success, which is why we will continue to nurture and support our innovators and entrepreneurs so that they create jobs and continue to improve our State's economic growth.

Extension of time

This Government is committed to creating the jobs of today and the jobs for tomorrow which stands in stark contrast to those opposite. I checked how many press releases the shadow Minister for Innovation has issued. Was it 10 press releases, five press releases or one press release on innovation? It was nada; there were no press releases on innovation. I thought that the press releases were on a website or on Twitter. We would expect the shadow Minister for Innovation to use modern technology, but she does not use Twitter. I suspect she can take some tips from the member for Prospect because his Twitter page has 13 followers, including the member for Strathfield, Sean Nicholls, two fake bots and himself. This is Labor innovation at its finest. Labor is not against innovation. In fact, Labor Government members have used their time in office to come up with innovative and entrepreneurial business models—the only jobs they created were for themselves. There is no sign of innovation from NSW Labor. The Leader of the Opposition did not mention it in his budget reply speech. [].

Mr Mark Coure:

I have more than 3,000 likes on Facebook, mostly from the Labor Party.

Mr MATT KEAN:

I like the Facebook page of the member for Oatley. Clearly those opposite do not care about jobs for New South Wales now or in the future. I checked out what their Federal counterparts are doing. They are a bit more innovative. They have set up a Labor for Innovation Facebook page. After a flurry of activity, the last post on that Facebook page was in February 2016. I checked out the Labor for Innovation Twitter feed. That is not much better. The last post was in September 2015. That is what Labor thinks about innovation and that is how much it thinks the jobs of tomorrow are a priority in this State.

I was determined to find something. I went to the Labor for Innovation website and came across a domain name server error, or DNS error, because the host name does not exist. This is how much Labor cares about innovation. Labor and innovation together do not exist; it is a joke. This Government is innovating and it is committed to promoting innovation in education, energy, health and transport, and every other sector of the economy. We are committed to jobs not only for today but also for tomorrow. We are the party of the worker not only today but also tomorrow. This Government is not sitting idly by ignoring the future; it is investing in innovation and creating the jobs of tomorrow.