Page 2340 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 16 June 2009
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Implementation of the nation building and jobs plan
Ministerial statement
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage) (3.28), by leave: On 5 February 2009 the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd, and state and territory leaders signed the National partnership agreement on the nation building and jobs plan: building prosperity for the future and supporting jobs now, announced by the Prime Minister on 3 February. The plan extended the commonwealth stimulus measures announced in December 2008.
The ACT is working with the commonwealth to implement the nation building and jobs plan to limit the extent of the economic slowdown and associated job losses. The ACT will benefit from around a total of $334.5 million dollars in commonwealth funding under the plan, with $229.3 million of this amount for school infrastructure and $102.7 million for social housing. In addition, ACT households and businesses will benefit from estimated funding under the plan for:
• a one-off tax bonus for eligible taxpayers of up to $900 for individuals and families, depending on income thresholds, estimated at $141 million, the single income family bonus, estimated at $14.9 million, and a training and learning bonus, the education entry payment supplement and the back to school bonus, estimated at $37.5 million;
• road safety through the black spot program, $2.4 million, the regional and local community infrastructure, estimated at $8 million, and the national highway network, estimated at $100,000;
• improving the energy efficiency of homes through the addition of solar hot water and ceiling insulation, estimated at $28 million;
• additional defence housing, with a number of the properties to be built in the ACT, estimated at $3 million; and
• small business and general business tax breaks, estimated at around $32 million.
To maximise the timely and effective delivery of the 3 February nation building and jobs plan, the commonwealth, states and territories agreed to new national coordination arrangements, involving coordinators at commonwealth, state and territory levels, to support monitoring and implementation of the infrastructure and stimulus measures.
There was also agreement that the ACT would not use the funding provided under the plan to finance existing capital works being undertaken for schools, social housing and roads. The commonwealth funding was for additional effort in those areas.
A small task force has been set up in the ACT, led by the coordinator-general reporting directly to the Chief Minister. The task force has responsibility for oversighting the rollout of the planned infrastructure and construction in the ACT and
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