Page 2842 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 29 June 2010
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the year to the September quarter 2009, the ACT experienced strong population growth of 1.9 per cent.
Tourism plays a major part in the ACT economy and the past year has been a busy one for our tourism industry. The ACT’s greatest success story in tourism for 2009-10 was the hosting of the landmark post-impressionism Masterpieces from Paris exhibition from the Musée D’Orsay from 3 December 2009 to 18 April 2010. The ACT Government committed $500,000 to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) to host the exhibition, and in return the ACT had a total visitation of 473,201 with 80 percent of them being from interstate, and an estimated economic benefit to the ACT of $95.2m.
A Vibrant City and Great Neighbourhoods
Mr Speaker, the ACT Government considers that investment in the arts in the ACT is an important part of ensuring a vibrant city and great neighbourhoods. The 2010 Canberra Festival saw the pilot test of a new city based arts event; Flipart. This three-day event brought street and physical theatre to Canberra’s city streets.
We continue to develop a program of activities to celebrate our Centenary, including allocating $100,000 in the 2010-2011 budget to commission an Australian composer to write a symphony for performance by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra in 2013.
Improvements to the Look and Feel of the City centre continued with active support from Canberra CBD Limited. The West Row Park upgrade was completed in 2009-10 for $700,000 with majority partnership funding from Canberra CBD Ltd and $100,000 from the ACT Government towards the project. The new draft Greater Canberra City Area Co-ordinated Action Plan 2010-2016 will guide the upgrading of the City centre over the next four years.
Beyond the City centre other investments have been made in shopping centres at a cost of between $1.6 and $1.1 million each, including the Garran, Deakin and Ainslie shops upgrades and forward designs for the Waramanga, Farrer, and Lyons, Red Hill and Scullin centres. Centres already refurbished include Holder, Griffith, Mawson, Higgins and Holt.
A Sustainable Future
Mr Speaker, this Government is ensuring that developments in the ACT incorporate a range of sustainability initiatives. The LDA estates of Coombs and Wright in Molonglo will feature a range of sustainability initiatives, including the use of Water Sensitive Urban Design principles. Non-potable water will be used to irrigate public open space. In addition, new homes will be required to save water through the use of rainwater tanks or grey-water recycling, consistent with the Territory Plan. Higher density developments will also occur close to major transport routes, which include dedicated public transport and cycle lanes.
On 17 November 2009, the Government announced a target of carbon neutrality by 2060, with a peak in per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 2013 as part of the Government’s response to the ACT Legislative Assembly Inquiry's interim report into Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets for the Territory.
A new action plan, Transport for Canberra, is currently in development. This plan will draw together transport policies and programs, including the Transport Infrastructure Plan, the next stage of the Sustainable Transport Plan. The 2010-
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