This is the second part of The Shaker's interview with Brendan Smyth. To read Part I, click here

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The idea of STEaM brings us back to Wellington. It looks very much that the engagement with New Zealand’s capital is as cultural as it is economic...

Well, it’s about attracting and keeping people. Anyone who has written about the future has already acknowledged the mobility of the new economy -  that business will set up wherever they feel most comfortable. They want to live somewhere with great food and wine, and large sporting teams that play in big stadiums and live international music acts. …

We’ve got all those things… but so do other cities. What’s our competitive edge? Well, businesses such as the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, or organisations such as CSIRO simply can’t be found anywhere else. They’re leading the world across many industries, and that keeps us an attractive proposition.

Plus, you can watch world-class rugby league, union or netball, or be in the bush on your mountain bike 15 minutes after leaving home.

 

You and I know that Canberra has those assets. Does anyone else?

Well, I think we need to promote it as a force for good. The young man living in Banks or the girl in Amaroo may wonder why we’re focussed on developing the export market. Well, that brings in investment to develop infrastructure such as the schools and the bike paths and all those things that make Canberra liveable.

So, let’s take the city for a drive. Let’s show it off to the world! After that, all of Canberra can enjoy the benefits of what this city can offer!

 

 

Considering how quickly you took the position, the role of Commissioner for International Engagement clearly fits you well! 

(laughs) It certainly does! This job is effectively the culmination of everything I have been working towards over the last couple of decades. As the commissioner – to push the ‘driving’ metaphor even further – it's effectively handed me the keys and let me put fuel in the tank. This is such a marvellous city, and the exciting part is that there are so many people that are yet to hear about us.

 

Going back to your strategy document, and looking at the ranking table for key trade partners (p.25), Singapore seems to be a long way down the list for most KPIs. Are they as interested in us as we are in them? How do we manage that?

Canberra has a relationship with AusCham – Austrade’s organisation for Australian business overseas. We’ve identified seven pillars where Australia is attractive to Singapore, and we need to work harder to demonstrate those potential benefits.

We train Singapore’s Air Force pilots… Canberra has all the major defence companies here…. There is so much we can help them with.

The 12 local firms that went to the National Export Awards would all be fantastic as part of a mission to Singapore. From a sporting point of view, they’ve just built a new stadium that needs event – so could one of the major codes play a game there. Or they could train their elite athletes at the AIS.

Once you start unpacking it, there are great ways to promote Canberra simply by making Singapore a more interesting city!

 

 

 

Singapore Airlines is clearly the catalyst for a lot of this work.

Yes. Both in the initial phase and ongoing. However, we haven’t quite realised the opportunities that having an international airport will bring.

Cherry season is upon us. With the late night flights out of Canberra, we could have the day’s picking’s on the breakfast tables in Singapore the very next morning. That’s a game-changer for the way business works and we need to be exporting other industries that can take advantage of that sort of access to a foreign market.

 

Canberra has also changed the way it treats its borders. Rather than whinging about people from Queanbeyan using the hospital – or the poor state of the King’s Highway -  there’s an acknowledgement that servicing a radius of around 150km is just good business. 

Indeed. Economics doesn’t recognise borders as readily as governments do!

Canberra has 400,000 people, but within two hours of the airport is a million people. This was part of the pitch to Singapore Airlines…. And that’s why you see the big brands such as Apple, Zara and Ikea in the city.

Even for Narooma there’s a benefit. They can have their oysters out of the water and on the plane overnight. Canberra is three hours closer than Sydney, and there is no overnight curfew.

If we can build up Canberra as a freight hub there will be plenty of more businesses like that looking to take advantage of what we offer.

The future is so exciting. We’ve just got to take that car for a drive!