Page 228 - Week 01 - Thursday, 15 December 2016
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We will also need to rethink how the ACT uses gas and our built environment, that is, how we build and plan the city. Emissions generated from waste will also be a target area. Achieving this goal will require government plans and decisions to be consistent with our zero net carbon pollution target right across the board. It will mean working with the community and working with business. While it is challenging, the good news is that it is both achievable and allows us to keep our high quality of life. It means solutions such as electric vehicles running on renewable energy, comfortable zero emission buildings—solutions that other jurisdictions are already progressing and are perfectly compatible with a high quality of life.
A second and related priority is for the ACT to achieve a carbon neutral government by 2020. This challenge means that we, the government, show the Canberra community that zero net emissions is genuinely achievable. This too will require a commitment across all ACT government directorates and agencies to reduce the government’s emissions to achieve the target. Some of our directorates are already showing great leadership but further action is needed.
One good example is switching from gas to high efficiency electrical appliances across the government to make the most of the ACT moving to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020. The goal will need to be reflected at all levels of decision-making on government operations—from building and design of government facilities, to government transport, to procurement practices.
I have asked my directorate to lead on this and they will be undertaking activities such as developing a regular reporting framework, holding government and business innovation workshops and increasing uptake of the loan fund that allows directorates to undertake activities that will reduce their emissions and also save on costs.
As the Minister for Justice and Consumer Affairs I also have responsibility for road safety. This is an area of priority for me. Road safety is a key area of the ACT government’s responsibilities but it is one that sometimes does not attract a lot of attention. Too often there is an attitude that deaths and injuries are an inevitable part of our road traffic system. I do not believe that this is the case. This is what is emphasised by the vision zero road safety approach that we have adopted in the ACT government.
One of my key priorities is to ensure that vision zero is not only well understood in the community but that its requirements are fully integrated across government. As part of the vision zero goal, I will continue to implement elements of the 2016-2020 road safety action plan. The plan requires a whole-of-system approach, including commitments in the way we plan and build infrastructure to achieve our vision of zero deaths, such as the way we set speed limits, the way we communicate with the public and our attitudes to vulnerable road users. This comprehensive integration of the vision zero philosophy, together with a safe system approach, is one of the priorities the government will pursue during this term of the Assembly.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to be the Minister of Corrections for a second term. Although it is a difficult area of public policy and government service delivery, I
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