Page 2819 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 11 October 2022
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achieve the highest ‘yes’ vote in the nation when the Voice to Parliament referendum is held.
In summary, Canberra is city that is not afraid to lead. We are a city-state that does not shy away from complex challenges.
Today, the ACT government is getting on with building our city’s future, delivering the infrastructure and services to ensure that we continue to be one of the most liveable cities in the world. Our actions are part of an ambitious vision that we have for our city’s future.
We understand that the decisions and investments that we are making now are not just about making Canberra a great place to live today or tomorrow or even at the next election; we are working to build a better Canberra for the decades ahead.
Before the end of this decade, our city will be a city of more than half a million people. For the past 10 years we have grown faster than any other state or territory. People are voting with their feet and moving to Canberra. These new Canberrans, as well as longer-term residents, will need the ongoing jobs, housing, transport, health care and social justice framework that sets our city apart from other jurisdictions. We will be employing, training and educating more people than ever before. By the end of this decade, we have an ambitious aspiration for our jobs market to grow to reach 300,000 jobs.
But it is not just Canberra that is growing. Our city will be servicing a growing capital region, with residents from nearby areas of New South Wales relying on our services, our hospitals, other specialist services provided in this city and, indeed, the business and amenity that Canberra offers. This is why we are working constructively with the new commonwealth government to secure a fairer share of federal funding and of the goods and services tax distribution.
Our city is acknowledged as a leader in Australia’s response to climate change. We expect the ACT to have reduced emissions by 65 per cent to 75 per cent from 1990 levels, and we are on our path to net zero emissions by 2045. The Big Battery project that I referred to earlier, once complete, will be storing at least 250 megawatts of renewable energy.
More Canberrans, as each year go by, will be enjoying the benefits of zero-emissions transport in private vehicles and public transport. Through the implementation of the ACT’s electric vehicle strategy, we will be home to a thriving zero-emissions vehicle sector, including sales, servicing, research and innovation, with the target of 80 per cent to 90 per cent of new car sales being zero-emission vehicles in the future.
Significant infrastructure projects will help shape the fabric of the territory, from an expanded Canberra Hospital; light rail spanning north to the south; the new CIT campus being constructed now in Woden; and, not far from where we are today, the renewal of the Canberra Theatre precinct. These are city-defining projects. They are essential to ensuring the infrastructure and services that our community relies on can meet an increasing population and demand attract world-class events and entertainment to Canberra.
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