Page 2267 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 5 June 2013
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The ACT government has also committed to transforming the vocational training sector in Canberra, with 23,900 vocational education students in the capital, which is why this government is delivering $180,000 to undertake a feasibility study investigating how CIT education can best be provided for in the Woden valley, Weston Creek, Tuggeranong and Molonglo communities, ensuring that current skill shortages are addressed and students in Canberra can obtain qualifications in the skills they want to. The government has also committed $240,000 to continue to support the children’s services sector to upskill its workforce to meet requirements of the national quality framework and to bring workers up to the required certificate III level.
Capital works programs are also creating Tuggeranong-based jobs, as well as continuing the important growth that is required for the area. I am pleased to be able to say that the ACT government has allocated $17.36 million for the area. This will provide a new fire station in the Calwell-Conder area as part of the emergency facilities upgrade and relocation from the current premises. With the draft variation now approved, it is only a matter of time before we see the bricks and mortar on the site as the building starts, to ensure that as the south of Tuggeranong grows, the emergency services will grow with it.
Brindabella will also see $1.6 million for stage 2 of the upgrade to Ashley Drive. This will see the duplication of Ashley Drive between Erindale Drive and Johnson Drive, providing a four-lane divided carriageway on this important road. This will include bridge structures at three locations as well as upgrading lighting and follows the $7 million investment that the ACT government made for stage 1, from Sternberg Crescent to Erindale Drive.
Ashley Drive also provides an important link between Johnson Drive in Richardson and Sternberg Crescent in Wanniassa. It has experienced significant growth in traffic volumes. A major study undertaken by the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate recommended a two-stage approach for that upgrade of works. It is also coupled with $250,000 to undertake a traffic safety investigation, including Sternberg Crescent in Wanniassa, to ensure that safety of drivers in Brindabella continues.
The government is also committed to transforming the capital’s public transport with the continued rollout of park-and-ride and bike-and-ride systems, with $120,000 for the development of design studies for bike-and-ride as well as park-and-ride facilities at Erindale, Wanniassa and Gungahlin. This adds to the upgrades of the ACTION system as a whole, including $250,000 for ACTION’s bus seat refurbishment program, $2.6 million for the management of the MyWay system, and $275,000 to upgrade CCTV systems across all ACTION bus stations;
This budget provides support for families in the ACT through greater access to the ability to purchase their first home. This budget increases the first homebuyers grant from $7,000 to $12,500. The ACT government will also increase accessibility to young families to purchase their first home by lowering the stamp duty rate. A young family purchasing their first house in my electorate of Brindabella, say for around $500,000, will see a saving of $3,400 in stamp duty. From today, if that family earns a combined income of less than $160,000, it will have access to the homebuyer concession scheme, meaning that when buying a new property under $420,000 they only need to pay $20 in stamp duty. I frequently talk to young couples in the area that
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