Page 2343 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 16 June 2009
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These are located in Franklin, Ainslie, Downer, Wanniassa, Richardson, Gowrie, west Belconnen, Narrabundah and Garran. The properties will mainly provide homes for smaller households, although they include a number for larger families.
• Stage 2: $85.2 million will be allocated from 2009-10 to 2011-12 to the ACT on the basis of an assessment of suitable proposals which closed on 25 May 2009.
The Australian government has also provided $6.4 million to the ACT for repairs and maintenance to existing public housing stock over two years; $3.2 million will be spent by 30 June.
This program will provide significant stimulus to the building and construction industry. The commonwealth, states and territories have also agreed that this measure would drive significant reform of social housing through consolidation of waiting lists, growth of the not-for-profit sector, funding reform, and reduction of concentrations of disadvantage.
A public information session on stage 2 of the social housing initiative was hosted by Mr Hargreaves on 16 April. The session was well attended and well received. Representatives of the community housing sector and the building industry attended. A call for proposals from the market for land and housing packages from the building sector and the community sector was open for a month from 25 April. A consultation forum to provide further advice on the commissioning and construction of affordable, energy efficient, low emission housing was held in late April.
In addition to social housing, the Australian government has approved funding of $252 million for Defence Housing Australia to construct an additional 802 new houses nationally. It is expected that approximately $3 million to $5 million of this money will flow through to the ACT for the construction of up to 10 homes. Defence Housing Australia is well ahead of schedule in its program and has signed contracts for the construction of 223 homes to date.
The Australian government is investing $26 million nationally on road and rail infrastructure through the nation building program over the six-year period 2008-09 to 2013-14. There are several components under the nation building program, including national highways, roads to recovery, black spot and heavy vehicle programs. Old AusLink funding has now been included in the plan, and the following projects will be delivered over the next four years: airport roads, $30 million, which requires matched funding from the ACT; Lanyon Drive stage 2, $7.5 million, requiring matched funds from the ACT; maintenance of the Barton and Federal highways, $2.35 million; and black spot program base funding of $610,000.
The ACT received an additional $100,000 from the national highway network maintenance program component of the nation building program for maintenance of the Barton and Federal highways. The ACT also received an additional $1.8 million in the black spot program component of the nation building program. Eight projects identified as high priority danger spots on Canberra’s roads received funding. The projects were identified by a panel of independent road safety experts. The details of the funded projects are: $524,000 for traffic lights on Yamba Drive; $325,000 to upgrade existing traffic signals at Drakeford Drive; $287,000 for improved signage at
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