Australia’s capital city Lord Mayors have restated the importance of Australia’s cities as major drivers of the Australian economy, following today’s Smart Cities Summit.
Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM) Chair, Lord Mayor of Darwin Katrina Fong Lim, welcomed today’s Summit, which highlighted renewed Federal engagement on urban issues affecting our cities, including provision of funding and finance for infrastructure and transport, climate change resilience and the economy.
“Australia’s capital cities are critical to Australia’s economic and social prosperity. We are the nation’s engine-room and one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Over two-thirds of Australia’s population live in our capital cities, with 82% of Australia’s future population growth expected to occur in our capitals”, said Lord Mayor Fong Lim.
Our capital cities also generate 68% of Australia’s GDP, a figure that continues to increase, and have 8.1 million workers – 69% of Australia’s total workforce. As the Prime Minister highlighted at the Summit, sustainable cities with high quality of life will continue to attract the best and brightest who have the knowledge and skills to drive innovation and economic growth.
CCCLM has been actively working to develop a common agenda between the Federal Government and Australia’s capital cities on the future of our cities. Today’s Summit demonstrated a strong agreement that Australia’s Cities Matter.
Lord Mayors welcome the opportunity to enter into meaningful partnerships with the Australian Government to deliver the agenda that we share, our cities’ prosperity and sustainability and in turn the Nation’s prosperity and sustainability.