Page 30 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 8 February 2022
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this portfolio include: the delivery of the cancer research centre; rolling out the digital health record across our hospitals and community-based services; more support for alcohol and other drug services; working with the community to plan for more local services and better care coordination; and finalisation of the first 1,000 days strategy to ensure the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes for babies and their families.
We know that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on mental health right across our community. The government has already made several investments in clinical and community support services. Work is underway to deliver more initiatives to support people with mental illness at risk of homelessness.
Turning now to early childhood development, education and youth affairs, this government understands the value of good public education and is continuing to focus on the development of new schools in growth areas in our city and upgrades to existing schools right across the territory. We know that this provides a better teaching and learning environment and it is important to meet the needs of our growing city.
We are also committed to providing every three-year-old child in Canberra with access to one day a week of free early learning by the end of this parliamentary term. We will continue to support young Canberrans with the safe and connected youth coordinated service response. These, amongst other priorities in education, training and youth affairs, will be a focus this year.
There is also important work underway in relation to workplace safety, including amending the ACT’s portable long service scheme and work health and safety laws and introducing regulations to protect tradespeople from silica dust.
In the area of climate action, the ACT government continues to lead the way in responding to climate change and this year will introduce legislation to improve the climate change and greenhouse gas emissions act, following its review.
The government is committed to driving innovation across the energy and transport sectors, supporting businesses and households to save on their energy costs, to reduce emissions and to take advantage of new technologies. As part of our nation-leading polices to reduce transport emissions, we will develop a second zero-emissions vehicle action plan to expand on the very successful, and indeed nation-leading, first action plan.
EV take-up is accelerating in the ACT, faster than anywhere else in Australia. Our plan to electrify the Transport Canberra bus fleet is underway. We are developing a gas transition plan which will be further advanced this year. We will also progress procurement activities in relation to the Big Canberra Battery and continue to deliver the highly successful Sustainable Household Scheme.
Turning now to housing and suburban development, over the past two years there has been a significant rise in the cost of housing. This has occurred across the nation primarily as a result of very low, historically low, interest rates and existing commonwealth government tax settings. Property is an investment class of asset,
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