Page 3040 - Week 10 - Friday, 8 October 2021
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hazardous materials in our schools before this outbreak and, since lockdown, their concerns have intensified. They are concerned that, when their children do return to the classroom, they will be in schools that do not have appropriate ventilation—schools that are not fit-for-purpose in this new COVID world.
We must fast-track these long-waited upgrades to our ageing schools to create safer learning environments and to stimulate our building and construction industry. We must prioritise this critical infrastructure funding to create COVID-safe, world-class learning environments so that our teachers can deliver a world-class education. Our teachers, our students and our parents, who have dealt with the challenges of COVID so well, deserve a government that prioritises their safety, learning and wellbeing to bring out the best in every child.
We must equip our tradies with the tools they need to deliver on a strong and ambitious infrastructure plan by boosting skills and training. Our building and construction industry literally build our city. With every dollar spent generating a $3 economic return, a robust and thriving building and construction industry is crucial to our economic recovery. Infrastructure investment not only provides critical jobs and economic stimulus; it also lays the foundation for a more livable, vibrant and productive city.
The Treasurer has trumpeted a once-in-a-generation infrastructure spend. We know that this government is first class when it comes to spin over substance. When it comes to delivering, its legacy of the underspending, of the broken promises and of the delays speaks for itself. Hyperbole and re-announcements do not turbocharge our economy. Glossy brochures and videos do not create more jobs or deliver support for businesses crying out for support right now.
A $5 billion infrastructure spend over five years, at first blush, sounds great on paper. But when you start digging into the numbers, this figure has been misrepresented by adding in a fifth year to make it sound bigger and flashier. Last year’s budget promised an infrastructure spend of $4.3 billion over four years. This year’s budget promises an infrastructure spend of $4.48 billion over four years. The reality is that this is a 4.2 per cent increase, in real terms, on the infrastructure spend that was announced last year. Is a 4.2 per cent increase what the Treasurer calls a full-throttle economic recovery through infrastructure boost? Creating the illusion of action is no substitute for real action.
We must do more to support this industry. We must appropriately invest in training. The ACT government provides for the lowest training subsidies for construction and trades in the nation. Despite the federal government’s expanded support for apprentices through its boosting apprenticeship commencements program announced just last month, this government has woefully fallen behind in showing our tradies and apprentices that they are valued and worth backing. This neglect has been intensified by the lockdown restrictions that have seen tradies unable to receive hands-on training—a double-blow to an industry that has been let down by this ACT government for too long.
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