Page 1057 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Previously, the government has delivered 17 specific infrastructure improvement projects as part of the city area action plan. A number of these are within the vicinity of this Assembly building, but this has also occurred throughout the CBD. The government recognises that beyond these particular projects and beyond education and health, other forms of social infrastructure are needed to ensure the vibrancy and inclusiveness of our city.
In recent years we have delivered a wide range of metropolitan, district and neighbourhood-oriented community facility upgrades. This includes four community hubs at Chifley, Cook, Holt and Weston that have been upgraded. Work is progressing on another community hub in Flynn. Three new neighbourhood halls have been provided in Bonython, Ford and Griffith.
A seniors centre has been established in the Tuggeranong town centre. A third child and family centre has been constructed in Holt, building on the success of the existing centres in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin. The existing facilities at the Mura Lanyon community centre and the men’s shed at the Majura Community Centre have been expanded and improved. These infrastructure works have been developed in response to community demands and designed with environmental sustainability in mind.
Infrastructure investment also improves housing affordability, a key priority of the government. This can be done directly through investment in new housing stock as well as indirectly in support of the private sector’s provision of new housing. Under the affordable housing action plan, phase 3, there are 14 innovative actions to boost the supply of affordable housing in the territory. This also includes a remission on various lease variation charges for owners of existing commercial office buildings who wish to redevelop them into affordable housing.
The government is also investing in its own public housing stock. In recent years 421 new social housing dwellings have been delivered under the nation building and jobs plan with the ACT being the first jurisdiction in the country to complete its commitments under this program. All new public housing dwellings are constructed to minimise future maintenance costs and to achieve a minimum six-star energy rating, in addition to being fitted with energy efficient appliances.
In closing, I thank the shadow treasurer for raising this issue. Good infrastructure planning is a core priority of the government. This is evident in the many-mentioned projects and programs that the government is delivering to the community so that our residents, our businesses and our community groups can continue to enjoy high quality facilities and services. (Time expired.)
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.09): I thank Mr Smyth for bringing forward this topic—the importance of good infrastructure planning in the ACT. I am sure that no-one in the chamber actually disagrees with this statement, but it is interesting how many arguments we do end up having about it in this place. High profile capital works such as the Cotter Dam and the GDE seem to have dominated that debate, at the expense of infrastructure successes and even discussion about what might be required for the future.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video