Page 2403 - Week 07 - Thursday, 4 August 2022
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invested significantly in the Hawker soccer fields, and previously in the Hawker softball centre. They are great places that are used by sports communities from across the ACT. I am pleased to be able to say that those communities have been working very closely with government on the need for future improvements to their facilities, like all our sports communities do across the ACT. We will continue to work closely with them on how we can make those improvements.
Regarding the softball facility, Mr Cain will recall that we went and watched some softball there at the same time—we weren’t together. The shade sails that had been funded by the ACT government had been constructed and were being completed. The softball community were very appreciative of those shade sails and what a difference they made for spectators at that sport.
I suggest that Mr Cain needs to do a more thorough investigation of the sites that he is referring to. We will definitely do the spending and work with our colleagues across sports, where there are government-owned facilities. Private facilities are of course another thing.
MR PARTON: Minister, why is Belconnen, the largest district in the ACT by population, not a priority area for sporting infrastructure for community use?
MS BERRY: Every area across the ACT is a priority area for sporting infrastructure. In the ACT we have the highest sports and recreation participation in the country, so we take very seriously working with our friends in the sport and recreation space, wherever those sports are, to ensure that those needs can be met across the ACT.
ACT Ambulance Service—funding
MR PETTERSSON: My question is to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. Minister, how is the ACT government supporting paramedics and the ACT Ambulance Service?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Mr Pettersson for his interest in our ACT Ambulance Service. I would like to begin by commending our paramedics for their ongoing efforts to serve our community while facing unprecedented challenges over the last few years. The ACT Ambulance Service remains a high-performing community-focused service with the fastest response times in the country and high levels of patient satisfaction. Last week I was pleased to announce extra funding and support for our paramedics to ensure that this remains the case.
The ACT government has committed more than $30 million in the 2022-23 ACT budget to boost support for our ACT Ambulance Service. This is great for our community, our city and, importantly, our paramedics. The core of our service is our frontline ambulance officers, who have worked so tirelessly throughout the pandemic, which continues to impact us today. Through this investment, 30 new staff will be employed, including paramedics, communication centre staff who take the triple 0 calls, and support staff. This will increase support to our road crews, increase the opportunity for our paramedics to undertake professional development, and enable us to better support the health and wellbeing of our frontline staff. It will help ACTAS to continue to meet the growing needs of its workforce and the community while
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