Page 3549 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 23 November 2021
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include clear priorities drawn from data and consultation. This plan will include a greater focus on inclusion, our commitment to addressing climate change and a clear strategic roadmap for sporting infrastructure in the ACT.
The 2021-22 budget commits $950,000 for the continued investment in sport and recreation facilities through providing lighting and amenity upgrades at Mawson Playing Fields and Kambah District Playing Fields, and cricket facility upgrades at Taylor and Melba. In addition to the above, $1.8 million has been committed through the TCCS Better Infrastructure Funding for improvements to grounds, sportsground lighting and pavilions across a number of sportsgrounds in the ACT.
For ACT government owned pools, since 2019 the ACT government has invested over $44 million into building new, and maintaining existing, aquatic facilities for the ACT community. The new $36.5 million Stromlo Leisure Centre was an important addition to the ACT government’s existing public pools at Dickson, Manuka, Civic, Tuggeranong and Gungahlin, enabling even more people to get active and learn critical water safety skills. In the 2021-22 budget the government is funding improvements and repairs at the Gungahlin Leisure Centre. This includes completing repairs of the 50-metre pool, installing a new acoustic ceiling treatment to improve the noise level of the pool area, and lighting improvements to enhance the lighting of the pool area. The enhancements will create a better atmosphere for patrons, lifesavers and spectators. Works on the 50-metre pool were impacted by border restrictions due to the COVID-19 health pandemic but are now progressing well. The ACT government is working through a revised timeline for the pool repairs and upgrades, and a further update on the revised completion date will be provided to the community as soon as possible.
This year’s budget delivers for Canberra’s sporting communities and, even through these challenging few years, clubs and teams have built on their strengths to make Canberra the best place for sports in Australia.
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism) (5.39): I want to take the opportunity this afternoon to provide the Assembly with an update on some of the early economic data that confirms the strength of the economic recovery the ACT is experiencing and then I will have a deeper dive into the most recent data updates on the territory’s gross state product for the fiscal year 2020-21, which is obviously a COVID-impacted year but which gives some insights into what to expect in the fiscal 2021-22, which we are currently in.
So let us begin with the good news on employment. The weekly payroll job data has indicated that for the first two weeks of October, our first step out of lockdown, employment—payroll jobs, hours worked—in accommodation and food services increased 12.3 per cent, and in arts and recreation services, another industry particularly impacted, increased by 7.9 per cent. That is just for the first two weeks as we began our easing out. The further data sets will come forward in the coming weeks, based on the job vacancy data and the advertisement data that we understand. What we are seeing from the banks in terms of retail spend on forward accommodation
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