Page 3632 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 November 2022
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motion today. The ACT government is committed to delivering the road infrastructure that Canberra needs and that we committed to at the election. Our roads play a critical role in the movement of people, freight, cyclists, pedestrians, public transport and commuters. Investment in road infrastructure has never been more critical, with the ACT’s population growing rapidly—the highest growth amongst all states and territories between the last two censuses.
It is critical that our roads are keeping pace with Canberra’s higher than expected population growth, to ensure that our city remains one of the most liveable places in the world; and it is critical that we put that investment into the right projects at the right time to support that growth.
We have a productive relationship with the Australian government, which has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to road projects in the ACT in recent years. Construction is well underway on the duplication of Gundaroo Drive, between Ginninderra Drive and the Barton Highway, which will provide a safer and faster commute for travellers between Belconnen and Gungahlin. It also takes into account future growth there, with potential development of the CSIRO site. We are also upgrading over 35 intersections across the territory to deliver improved safety for road users, cyclists and pedestrians.
In the south, work is progressing on the Monaro Highway upgrades, which is important for connectivity, safety and more efficient travel for commuters and freight in a growing area—not just for Tuggeranong residents, but also across the border, in places like Jerrabomberra, South Jerrabomberra and Googong.
We are forging ahead with the John Gorton Drive extension and the new Molonglo River bridge, in the Molonglo Valley. Construction on this critical link is due to commence next year. The duplication of Athllon Drive is also on track, with a tender recently released to the market for the detailed design of the southern section.
In the October federal budget, the federal Labor government announced additional funding for road maintenance and renewal across the ACT through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program through to 2026. The ACT government welcomed that commitment, as we do all commitments that are made to infrastructure from the federal government. We welcomed that investment.
Ahead of the October federal budget, the commonwealth reached out to all state and territory governments to ensure that the delivery of infrastructure projects funded in part by the commonwealth were realistic, achievable and sustainable, recognising the challenges with the current construction market.
The commonwealth raised particular concerns about projects that were likely to be funded as a result of pork-barrelling efforts from the previous coalition government. Many of those have been well documented in the media. One project that was identified as a very ill-defined project with no clear deliverables was the commonwealth’s south-west corridor project. It has always been unclear to the ACT government, and it has not been elaborated on today, either, by the opposition, in terms of what it would deliver. We are very unclear about what the south-west corridor project was supposed to achieve.
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