Page 3611 - Week 08 - Thursday, 18 August 2011
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In addition to the measures outlined in question 7, the ACT Government has made available 5 sites for early childhood education and care services. Sites at Giralang and McKellar have been sold. A site at Macarthur will be auctioned in the coming months and sites at Holt and Gungahlin Town Centre will be released in 2011-2012.
The ACT Government is also upgrading childcare facilities owned by the Community Services Directorate through its existing capital upgrades program. This includes a site at Fyshwick
Work is also underway for the development of Franklin Early Childhood School, which will co-locate 120 childcare places with 300 places for preschool to year 2 students. Construction work will be completed in two stages. Stage 1 will be ready for the start of the 2013 school year and will include the child care centre, preschool and kindergarten areas and part of the external works.
(9) The ACT Climate Change Strategy, Weathering the Change 2007-25, committed the Government to issuing Action Plans at regular intervals to provide up-to-date information on climate change knowledge and emerging technologies, guidance to the ACT Government, businesses and the community on progress towards the targets and actions to achieve long term emission reductions.
(10) The 2011-12 Budget includes a number of initiatives relevant to the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate which will support Action Plan 2. These are:
• Improving Energy and Water Efficiency for Low Income and Disadvantaged Households; and
• Sustainability Data Management.
Details about the initiatives can be found in the Budget Papers.
Once released, Action Plan 2 will establish a range of actions that will need to be implemented from 2012 13. Budget bids will be lodged at the appropriate time. Draft Action Plan 2 is still under development. It will be released in the last quarter of 2011.
(11) The Environmental and Sustainable Development Directorate is at an advanced stage of planning for the large-scale solar scheme. The Government expects that legislation will be ready for introduction towards the end of 2011.
(a) The cost of administering the scheme will be met within existing appropriations for the Directorate.
(b) As above.
(c) The large-scale solar facility will be supported by a Feed-in Tariff awarded at auction. The auction process is being designed to maximise industry participation and competitive tension. The Directorate has already received strong expressions of interest in the scheme from a number of large scale developers and solar technology providers.
(d) The success of the large-scale solar scheme will be related to the objective of delivering large-scale solar generation capacity to the ACT at the lowest cost.
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