Page 2820 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 11 October 2022
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Over the next two years, the government will be progressively updating the territory’s infrastructure plan. The updated plan will outline the government’s approach to delivering projects, big and small, to support Canberra with over half a million people.
The first part of the updated plan will be released next year, focusing on arts, entertainment and sporting infrastructure. This includes the delivery of a new Lyric Theatre as part of the renewed Canberra Theatre precinct.
But, as foreshadowed in the 2019 infrastructure plan, it will also include scoping and design work for a new indoor entertainment venue for our city, with a capacity of at least 7,500. This pavilion-style venue will be designed to host a diverse range of touring artists, exhibitions, events and performances similar to those appearing in places like the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.
The ACT government will also seek to partner with the Australian government on the renewal and reinvigoration of the Australian Institute of Sport to once again have a nation-leading sports precinct here in Canberra, in Bruce. We will also invest in new community facilities to support grassroots participation in sport, recreation and the arts.
The infrastructure plan will also include an update for the territory’s health infrastructure pipeline. Our objective is that every Canberran has access to good quality health care when they need it and where they need it. This demand for services is only increasing as our population both grows and ages.
This is why we are continuing to invest in the health infrastructure and services our city needs and also reflecting Canberra’s role as providing health services for surrounding New South Wales. A significant proportion of New South Wales residents rely on ACT health services.
As members in this place know, the government is investing over $600 million to expand the Canberra Hospital. This is the single-largest investment in healthcare infrastructure since self-government. The project is delivering more operating rooms, more treatment spaces and more intensive care beds, allowing our biggest hospital to care for more patients and employ more specialists. The government is already planning for a new north side hospital, which will be required in the medium term.
This year’s budget includes $390 million in new investment across the health portfolio, including funding for our public hospitals to deliver 60,000 elective surgeries during this term and an additional 900 endoscopies each year over the next two years.
Of course, alongside our hospitals is an important and growing network of primary health care, with nurse-led walk-in centres and community health centres ensuring Canberrans can access free health care closer to where they live while also taking pressure off our emergency departments. These investments will ensure our health system can meet increasing demand for good quality health care now and into the future.
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