Page 631 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 February 2013
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improve community safety in west Belconnen. Yesterday we heard about our bushfire preparedness, an issue close to my heart as a member of my local Hawker CFU. We have heard how our commitment to emergency services stood us in such good stead in the recent very serious weather conditions.
I am also pleased to highlight some of the plans to improve local sports grounds and facilities, including the Kambah district playing fields, through the provision of improved irrigation. We will help fund a new building structure at Greenway enclosed oval to improve player and spectator facilities. The government will engage with key stakeholders to consult on how the $500,000 fund will be utilised. This fund will help local teams such as Tuggeranong Hawks AFL, Tuggeranong Bushrangers Rugby League and Tuggeranong Tornadoes Gridiron clubs. We have also committed $600,000 to establish a family water play area as part of the Lakeside Leisure Centre at Tuggeranong. We will contribute $5 million over three years to work with the University of Canberra and ACTSPORT to establish a community sports hub at UC.
A number of local shops in my electorate are also earmarked for major upgrades, including Evatt, Florey, Kaleen, Spence and Macquarie with minor upgrades planned for Fraser. Supporting our local shops in this way will help to ensure their continued viability, support jobs and provide Canberrans with convenient local services. The government will provide free wi-fi in all the town centres, bus interchanges and on all ACTION buses.
I also believe it is important to reaffirm Mr Corbell’s comments in this place yesterday and today about the ACT government being strongly committed to minimising our carbon footprint. That is why in 2010 we undertook to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by the year 2020, and I am pleased to say that we are well on track to meet that target. We have also legislated to make regular reporting to the Legislative Assembly mandatory on the ACT greenhouse gas emissions trends, as the minister did today. As he said, we are a clear leader in this area. We also undertook to establish a climate change council to provide independent advice on climate change issues as they affect business and the wider community.
I cite an example of our forward thinking in environmental policy—our community garden funding program. We made a commitment in the election to provide $200,000 over four years to establish further gardens based on criteria developed through feedback on the community gardens discussion paper. The ACT Labor government knows community gardening improves community health, wellbeing and food security, lowers natural resource consumption and builds community resilience. We have helped establish up to 14 community gardens across the ACT in Charnwood, Cook, Cotter, Dickson, Erindale, Holder, Kaleen, Kambah, Kingston, Mitchell, Oaks Estate, O’Connor, Narrabundah and the ANU. Eleven of these are managed by the Canberra Organic Growers Society.
I have outlined as a member of the Labor government just some of our commitments to the ACT. A short speech in this place can in no way reflect the total commitment of the Labor government. I want to affirm this government’s capacity to deliver these commitments. We are a strong and cohesive team, and we have our total energy
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