Page 2843 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 29 June 2010
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11 ACT Budget dedicated $97 million over four years to Transport for Canberra, including $6.1 million to deliver enhanced ACTION public transport services and $1.0 million for enhanced road safety awareness campaigns. This also includes $70m of capital funding over 4 years for a range of initiatives including real time passenger information, Park and Ride and Bike and Ride facilities, major bus stations, bus priority measures and cycling infrastructure.
In the context of Transport for Canberra, in late 2009 ACTION commenced the trial of Rapid Express Direct, or REDEX, a new, high frequency service from Gungahlin, through the City and Kingston to the Railway Station. It operates every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday. The success of the trial has led to a decision by Government to adopt Redex as part of the main network and it will be extended to the Direct Factory Outlet in Fyshwick in late 2010.
Urban tree management attracts a high level of public interest. Work continued to remove dead and hazardous trees across Canberra. In all cases tree removal is the last option and pruning or corrective tree surgery work is undertaken if possible. Large-scale tree plantings of 6,250 trees and shrubs planted as a part of the One Million Trees initiative commenced in Autumn 2010 to continue replacing gaps in our streets and parks landscape.
High Quality Services
Mr Speaker, central to the delivery of high-quality services in the ACT is the quality of the people we employ in the ACT Public Service. In September 2008 the ACT Public Service Attraction and Retention Framework was launched.
In a new initiative for 2010-11, the Attraction and Retention Framework team will focus on the enhancement of attraction and retention initiatives to support the employment of representatives of identified employment groups. Priority groups are people of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Island background, and people who identify as having a disability. The first initiative targeting those who identify as having a disability is a Pilot Traineeship Scheme for People with an Intellectual Disability. On offer will be five or more administrative traineeships for people with an intellectual disability, providing participants with the opportunity to gain both work experience in an administrative environment, and a nationally recognised qualification in business and administrative skills.
As a Government we recognise the crucial involvement of the community in informing Government decision making. Engaging the community in big picture issues facing Canberra will forms part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to engage citizens in decision making.
The upcoming Canberra Conversation will provide greater opportunities than ever before for broad ranging community discussions on how we achieve a sustainable urban form in the ACT. The conversation will range across social, economic, environmental and spatial planning and strategy. It will engage a broad cross section of the community, especially those groups who are frequently not involved in discussions with government in questions affecting their future, including young people.
Mr Speaker in closing I would like to reaffirm this Government’s commitment to the vision, key themes and objectives of The Canberra Plan: Towards Our Second Century and commend the 2010 Annual report to members of the Assembly.
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