Page 2182 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
the city and its economy. All of these investments have been carefully planned and are being delivered to provide infrastructure for the short, medium and longer term.
I will now touch upon some of the planning that underpins the infrastructure plan and the various areas of investment that this government have recently undertaken. In the health sector, we are looking to establish a system to serve the needs of the next decade. The infrastructure which is being rolled out progressively over the coming years has been heavily informed by service delivery planning. Both nationally and in the ACT there will be increasing demands on the health system due to the ageing population. We are not planning just for the short term.
The health system we are building will look quite different from the health system of today. There will be new technologies and different models of care. The infrastructure planning associated with the capital asset development plan will result in a state-of-the-art women’s and children’s hospital, a reformed mental health system which will support improved models of care, and improvements to the provision of health services in both the hospital setting and, just as importantly, in the community setting through the provision of new community health centres in our regions.
These actions clearly demonstrate that the government has a clear vision for the provision of infrastructure in the medium to long term. The territory has excellent transport infrastructure. We are maintaining and improving current infrastructure and will continue to make strategic investments in an integrated and sustainable transport system for the future.
Our annual roads program is developed based on comprehensive roads asset management plans. The works announced in the 2010-11 budget for transport for Canberra, totalling over $90 million, are also informed by a significant body of planning works which will reform our transport system. We are planning for a more sustainable city where more people will choose to walk, ride bikes and use public transport. Improvements to our transport system will not happen by accident. We are planning for the future.
We are now delivering a reform to the education system. We have made tough decisions—decisions that were not popular. These were decisions, however, that were a part of the larger plan to improve the provision of education infrastructure. Long before the commonwealth assisted with upgrades to our schools as part of the national stimulus package, a program of work was well underway investing $90 million to both improve our existing schools and investing in the provision of new schools.
New schools which have incorporated new models for the delivery of education include our P-10 schools and early childhood schools. The Kingsford Smith school, the Kambah P-10 as well as the Narrabundah, Scullin, Lyons and Isabella Plains P-2 schools all deliver sustainable, long-term infrastructure to the community. If you have been out to see the progress being made on Gungahlin college, you will also appreciate what a fantastic asset this will be for the residents of Gungahlin.
The Canberra spatial plan outlines the strategic direction that will help manage change and provide for growth to achieve the social, environmental and economic sustainability of Canberra. Under the umbrella of the Canberra plan, the Canberra
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video