Page 1978 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
housing in the future, but how that mix applies to any new sites needs to be informed by consultation. This government’s vision for neighbourhoods is not only about price and housing options. It is also important to us to have inclusive neighbourhoods that offer the services people need and the amenities they want.
Last week I listed many of the reasons why the change to a commonwealth Labor government offers great hope and opportunity for Canberrans. Members came together to renew a call for waiving the ACT’s housing debt. Members also heard about the ACT government’s commitment to public and affordable housing, and the amendment I will move today reflects that focus. Over the next five years the ACT government will invest more than half a billion dollars to deliver 1,400 new, modern and efficient properties, including 400 additional homes for those most in need, such as Canberrans experiencing homelessness.
This program includes direct budget investment of over $150 million. This is, per capita, the biggest investment in public housing in the country and will see almost a quarter of our public housing stock renewed—and over $1.2 billion invested in public housing from 2014-25. The 2021-22 budget saw $100 million committed to growing, renewing and maintaining public housing.
A commitment to inclusive neighbourhoods is what Canberrans support, and that is what they should expect from this government. The amendment I will be moving reflects our vision for future development in Canberra: inclusive, environmentally sustainable and with the infrastructure and services that make Canberra the most liveable city in Australia. Most importantly, Canberrans should have their voices heard about how those values are reflected in any new developments.
The ACT government has been working on how the CSIRO site might best fit into Canberra’s future for years, and I welcome Ms Lee’s support for that work. I would like to thank the ACT public servants who have been consistently and diligently providing advice and working on this, despite no action at all from the previous coalition government at the national level. With the amendment to the motion, I look forward to continuing this work and joining with the Chief Minister in sending a letter that seeks support from the new Albanese Labor government for releasing the CSIRO site.
I move the amendment that I have circulated:
Omit all text after “notes that”, substitute:
“(a) in 2015, the previous leadership of the Australian Government encountered serious governance and commercial issues in attempting to sell 243 hectares of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Ginninderra site for housing development;
(b) despite interest from the ACT Government following 2015 and again recently, the outgoing leadership of the Australian Government failed to successfully make the CSIRO Ginninderra site available for housing;
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video