Page 1447 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 1 June 2022
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Over the past decade it has been very clear that the ACT government has been doing the heavy lifting as we deliver the territory’s largest-ever infrastructure program. It is worth noting that commonwealth infrastructure spending in the ACT was the lowest of any state or territory under the former Liberal-National government. It is simply a fact.
Our jurisdiction has around 1.7 per cent of Australia’s population; so, yes, we are a small jurisdiction. But we should still receive our fair share of national infrastructure spending. Yet our 1.7 per cent of the population received only 0.28 per cent of federal infrastructure funding in the Morrison government’s last budget. That was a pattern that was reflected through the course of the last federal government. We did not think it was good enough and, clearly, the people of Canberra did not think it was good enough. It was clear why we were being overlooked, but the electoral implications of that might finally have hit home to the Liberal Party after the vote on 21 May.
From here, the territory now has an important opportunity to work productively with a new federal government. I have made no secret of the fact that we will be seeking a larger and fairer share of the national infrastructure investment pipeline to ensure that we can continue to deliver the services Canberra needs, mainly as the national capital but also as a growing city in its own right, and a major regional hub for around 800,000 Australians.
My federal colleagues have committed to a range of important projects in the ACT, including delivering an urgent-care clinic in Canberra’s south that will, similar to our nurse-led walk-in centres, make it easier for Canberrans to seek medical care when and where they need it, whilst taking pressure off our hospitals. As I have touched on earlier, the new federal government seeks to build on and strengthen our Medicare system, through these centres and other initiatives, and does not seek to tear it down or scale it back.
The new federal government will also fund upgrades at nine schools across the city, and deliver three community batteries that will complement our work that is underway at a territory level with the Big Canberra Battery project, helping to reduce emissions, lower power costs for households and create jobs.
There have been further infrastructure commitments: as I discussed earlier, partnering with the territory government to invest in a youth foyer to provide student accommodation for at-risk young people, as part of the CIT Woden project; commitments to partner with the territory government to upgrade the Gorman House arts precinct and the Weston Creek Tennis Club; partnering with the territory government on the construction of the garden city cycle route through Canberra’s inner north; and funding design work for a permanent sports arena on the University of Canberra campus.
Of course, one of the most talked-about issues in the lead-up to the federal election was the future of the Australian Institute of Sport, and particularly the short-term future of the AIS Arena. As members are aware, for close to two years now, the arena has not been available for major sporting or entertainment events due to the former
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