The Interview: ACT Senator Zed Seselja - Part II
Welcome to the second part of our interview with ACT Senator, Zed Seselja. To read Part I, click here.
What are your thoughts on the Federal government funding on land they own in the ACT, particularly around Lake Burley Griffin?
The NCA has a pretty tight budget. It was cut a number of years ago and hasn’t really grown since.
What I’ve tried to do with the agency is to maintain its footprint, but have it do a little bit less. One example is that we’ve taken away their responsibility and kept its focus on the centre of Canberra – The Parliamentary Triangle, Lake Burley Griffin and Anzac Parade.
That’s the right way for it to operate. It can use that budget to focus on key assets.
From an economic and tourism point of view, the lake is very under-utilised.
That’s true. However, you cannot deny that the lake and the Parliamentary Triangle deliver some of the most picturesque places in Canberra... it’s stunning. That’s why we’re investing $76 million in cleaning it up – along with Lake Gungahlin and Lake Tuggeranong.
Going back to City-to-the-Lake, that development could really remove some of the sterility around the foreshore and add a real energy to the city.
Speaking of Foreshore, the operators of Canberra’s last great music festival found dealing with the NCA to be quite burdensome. Can we really expect more businesses to try to utilise this key asset if the red tape is so complex?
It’s certainly an ongoing agenda – and we’ve made some great headway around the complexity of Canberra’s planning laws.
Now that we’ve taken a lot out of the NCA’s hands, I’d like to work with the relevant Minister to help the NCA not only maintain its patch, but actively promote Canberra and its assets to the rest of the country.
They used to this a lot more, and the cuts in 2008 hampered their ability to continue to promote the city. Now that we’ve taken away some of their responsibilities outside of key areas, there is capacity to put some of their focus back on tourism outcomes.
We could bring back the Birdman Rally!
Haha! Yep! The Birdman Rally was a lot of fun. If there’s a private sector proposal out there that wants to partner, I’m definitely open to it.
On a serious note, all the major institutions now have shops, cafes and function spaces that deliver revenues to support their operations. Why don’t we do this with the lake?
The NCA is looking at potential revenues from some of the outdated buildings – think Anzac Park (West and East) which could be redeveloped into accommodation. Simple ideas like that could really enliven the triangle.
On to your portfolio…
PaTH is yet to be passed through the parliament. The intern stage – which can last as long as three months – offers only an extra $100 per week remuneration for up to 25 hours work. Is an additional $4.00 per hour a great incentive to participate in work?
It is when you consider the outcome.
This is targeted at a cohort that find it very difficult to get work. We approach it from two angles. The first is a job-seeker that has certain barriers to employment. They may not have had the mentoring opportunities, or not possess the requisite skills. They might be on long-term welfare and find it difficult to transition back into the workplace.
Secondly, we need to encourage employers to give these people the chance to prove themselves or develop skills. There’s certainly a reluctance to take on someone who might be long-term unemployed. In PaTH we provide a financial incentive to encourage businesses to have a look at these people and perhaps pick up a permanent position.
The $1,000 per fortnight incentive for business is certainly attractive, but the motive for the potential employee may not be as compelling.
There’s no doubt that the scheme requires a level of motivation from potential employees. This is not unusual for anyone looking to further themselves. My wife, Roslyn, is currently undertaking her Masters, and is required to do 26 weeks full-time for free. That’s not ideal for her, but she realises that at the end there is an outcome.
Canberra is a highly educated city with people from all across the world living here. As the new Minister for Multiculturalism, what can you take from the ACT into the broader portfolio?
Canberra is one of the world’s most outstanding examples of what a multicultural city can achieve.
We might not have the size of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, but we’ve been fortunate to develop a multicultural population that feels very much a part of the city and, because of the city’s role, very much a part of Australia.
This is very much the vision I want to achieve with the portfolio. My family came from Croatia, and while we love where we came from, we love where we are. If people feel that they are not a part of the city or the country, then that’s a failure on our part as Australians.
Is there a reason why we do multiculturalism so well?
Absolutely. I think a lot of people underestimate just how strong our sense of community is. We don’t have particularly large gaps across socio-economic levels, and a smaller population allows for people to get to know each other a little better.
The planning for the city, with town centres providing facilities for a set population, makes living and functioning as a Canberran much more accessible.
Going back to the discussion around housing prices, it’s an important factor that new Canberrans aren’t pushed to the fringes without the opportunity to join existing communities.
Have you met with Australian of the Year, David Morrison? As a fellow Canberra resident, he could be a great asset to promote your new portfolio.
Let’s wait and see. Certainly, he absolutely right about diversity in the workplace. If you can bring in a balance of gender with people from different ethnic backgrounds, we know that this delivers great outcomes.
That doesn’t have to exist solely at the boardroom level, either. I think it has to happen across all levels of business.
Given the known benefits of diverse workplaces, how can the Coalition work to create more representative Government?
We can start with our internal processes. The best way to do it is to ensure there are really democratic processes that allow all members of the community to participate. Without being too critical of my colleagues over the border, this is something that is essential to a modern political party.
The NSW Liberals are having a rigorous debate about this, and many of the party’s elders are strongly calling for this reform. As you know, we don’t have quotas in the Liberal party – no matter the jurisdiction. In the ACT, we’ve got women as more than 40% of the candidates for this year’s election which I think is a great result and something that actively demonstrates that we’re doing something right in the ACT.
Even more exciting is that if you look at the ethnic backgrounds for all the candidates, they come from all across the world. It’s a great result!