Page 2494 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 9 August 2016
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There is also much that can be said about the LDA with regard to their land acquisitions around the ACT. I will be putting a motion on tomorrow’s notice paper which will go to a concern about one such acquisition but I fear that there are numerous acquisitions that are of real concern. And I do not think this government are being particularly wise with taxpayers’ money. At best they are not being wise and at worst they are doing something that warrants attention from investigating agencies.
There are numerous other things that I do not think I am going to have time to discuss in this brief speech. However, I will finish up on the issue of light rail. It is the government, of course, that has a $375 million capital commitment for light rail in 2018. However, there are the 20 annual payments as well. Because of that we are seeing, I think, a massive increase in the actual interest that we in the ACT are paying. The interest on borrowings for the last financial year was $177 million but by 2019-20 it is going to be $226 million. By all accounts the trajectory seems to be increasing rapidly. On a per capita basis this, I think, is becoming prohibitive. (Time expired.)
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Disability, Minister for Small Business and the Arts and Minister for Veterans and Seniors) (3.58): The 2016-17 financial year will see the government continue to implement the ACT arts policy with our vision of a diverse and dynamic arts ecology valued locally, nationally and globally. Principle four of the arts policy is to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultures, an important and distinct part of Canberra’s culture that deserves to be fully celebrated and represented. The ACT government has provided $100,000 in the 2016-17 budget to enable artsACT to work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultural sector to deliver specific funding for grants or programs identified through consultation. The first step will be to identify where this funding will have the most impact, through building relationships, developing the capacity of the sector and providing advocacy and support.
The 2015-16 ACT budget allocated $496,000 over two years to support works identified in the artsACT facility strategic assessment management plan. The funding will go towards high priority safety upgrades across the portfolio. In 2016-17 we have funded improvements to the fire protection system at the Street Theatre, with $180,000 allocated to implement these important upgrades in the main theatre. These new budget initiatives are supporting the implementation of the ACT arts policy and the artsACT strategic plan and contribute to our support of the arts as an integral part of the lives of individuals as well as the social and economic fabric of Canberra.
The budget for 2016-17 provides $6.6 million over two years for the continued implementation of “Confident and business ready—building on our strengths”, the ACT government’s business development strategy. ACT small business is a key stakeholder in the implementation of confident and business ready, and the ACT government continues to work with the small business community to leverage the size and diversity of economic opportunities that exist across the Canberra region.
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