Page 34 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 8 February 2022
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For Canberra to be a true, modern 21st century city, with modern 21st century infrastructure, the time to invest is now. Over the coming years, the government will be working on both the delivery of the infrastructure priorities that we have already outlined and what comes next in the infrastructure plan. Over the next two years we will continue to update the community on our infrastructure plans as we deliver the largest program in the territory’s history.
The Canberra Hospital expansion will ensure that Canberrans have increased access to better health care when and where they need it, enhancing capacity across the hospital’s intensive care, surgical, coronary care and emergency services. The project is creating 600 jobs during the construction phase and contributes to our commitment to employ new healthcare professionals, once the facility is open, across this parliamentary term. The work to deliver the critical services building is also underway. Bulk excavation is due to be completed by mid this year, enabling early construction work to commence on this important project.
With respect to a topic that we have talked about a lot in this place, the government is getting on with extending the light rail network to Commonwealth Park, on its way to Woden—our city’s biggest ever infrastructure project. Members would be aware that early works are already underway for stage 2A to Commonwealth Park, with work to raise London Circuit to form an at-grade intersection with Commonwealth Avenue. Raising London Circuit not only enables the expansion of the light rail network to Canberra’s south but also significantly improves connectivity between the city and Lake Burley Griffin. Over the lifetime of the project, light rail to Woden will support over 6,000 jobs.
We are also committed to providing Canberrans with a wide range of sustainable transport options—strengthening our bus network and introducing the ACT’s first zero-emissions buses, expanding our shared path network for pedestrians and cyclists, and continuing a range of targeted road upgrades that include construction of the John Gorton Drive bridge and work on the Monaro Highway.
The south of our city, and the territory more broadly, will benefit significantly from the construction of a new CIT campus in the Woden town centre. The campus will be a flagship facility for the delivery of skills and training, and it will also further contribute to the rapid revitalisation of the Woden town centre. Construction work on the first phase of the new CIT precinct is already underway, with the final design for the new campus due to be revealed later this year.
There is no doubt—and I touched on this earlier in this speech—that skills and training will play an incredibly important role in our economic recovery. The government is investing a record $126.3 million in vocational education and training in 2022. Growing our city requires further investment in education—new and expanded schools across Canberra. This government believes, and believes very strongly, in the value of the education system for our territory. It is an education system that Canberra families put their faith in, and those families can be assured that we will continue to fund investments in our local schools and provide local teachers and students with what they need to thrive.
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