Page 3289 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
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On better public places, $100,000 has been provided to develop an ACT place-making guide and facilitate public place improvements, with a focus on the Woden town centre. This work will be done in partnership with Transport Canberra and City Services. The Suburban Land Agency will have a lead role in managing and maintaining these areas.
On innovation in housing choices, the government has committed to provide $775,000 over three years to deliver demonstration housing projects across the territory that support a vibrant, compact and sustainable city. The demonstration housing project is an important part of the housing choices policy engagement. This project will provide an opportunity for architects, builders, residents and social housing providers to showcase innovative design and delivery of real-world examples that are not currently available in the ACT, including small houses, co-housing, carbon neutral buildings and affordable housing.
I will move now to asbestos and the loose-fill asbestos insulation eradication scheme. The taskforce continues to provide a coordinated and compassionate response to the 1,023 homeowners and their families directly affected by Mr Fluffy through the loose-fill asbestos insulation eradication scheme. The scheme is ahead of schedule and under budget, with an estimated net cost decreasing by $12 million to $295 million. One-thousand and eight home owners have agreed to participate in the scheme, comprising 994 affected houses and 14 impacted properties. Over 668 owners have received stamp duty concessions totalling $16.31 million to help purchase another home or buy back their remediated block, and 1,084 assistance grants, totalling $12.2 million, have been paid to help those people relocate. Strong sales results are being achieved: 746 remediated blocks have been sold, with a total sales value of $497.3 million. The bulk of standard single-dwelling demolitions was completed in 2017, with the focus now shifting to preparing for the demolition of properties with additional complexities.
These initiatives are key components of a wider program of work being done in my portfolio. I am confident that the projects I have outlined will contribute to making our city safer, more livable, and more attractive to residents and investors. Our environment will be better protected for the communities and individual species that inhabit it and the people who enjoy it.
MS LEE (Kurrajong) (12.17): Environment estimates hearings, by their very nature, cover a wide collection of subjects, with discussion split among a number of officials, ministers and the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment. It is perhaps incongruous that environment is, for want of a better term, lumped in with heritage and planning and sustainable development, especially given its diverse and wide range of area coverage, from energy policy through to the natural environment. Additionally, with the range and breadth of subjects, the allocated time of 3.5 hours is a bit tight to get to the nub of some of the problems.
Environmental concerns started on day 1, community day, when the ACT and Region Frogwatch Program committee delivered a submission outlining their changed funding circumstances; the concerns they had that their most important work—their
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