Page 18 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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an appropriately detailed plan to build to, and we will develop codes of practice for builders and certifiers to ensure adequate supervision of the building process.
We know that if we want to protect what is unique about Canberra and ensure that we continue to be the bush capital, we must—we simply must—contain our urban sprawl and combine greenfield developments with urban renewal in our CBD, in our town centres and along our dedicated transport corridors. That is the way we can protect our city’s suburbs and protect the surrounding bushland whilst avoiding Sydney-style commutes for our residents.
This approach is making more homes available that are within reach for first homebuyers and single-income families. From 1 July this year, first homebuyers will get more support to purchase their first home, with the government fully abolishing stamp duty for eligible first homebuyers, whether they want to live in a newly built home or an existing property in an established suburb. This is a potential saving of tens of thousands of dollars for young Canberrans looking to get into the housing market for the first time and is a significant achievement of the government’s tax reform agenda.
This year will see the completion of the first stage of our public housing renewal program, which is replacing nearly 1,300, or around 10 per cent, of Canberra’s oldest public housing dwellings with new, modern, energy efficient homes that will suit the needs of current and future tenants.
But we are not stopping there, Madam Speaker. We have already announced that the next phase of our investment in public housing will deliver an additional $100 million into the sector, to build up to 200 new homes and renew another 1,000 homes over the next five years. In this period of government and the next period of government that would be fully one-fifth of all public housing in the territory being renewed. This work will get underway in the second half of this year so that we can keep the momentum going from the public housing renewal program to deliver even more new and renewed homes for Canberrans.
This forms part of a wider ACT housing strategy that will tackle a range of housing challenges across the spectrum, from homelessness to renters’ rights, to make sure that Canberrans can find the right place to call home. The implementation of the strategy has already kicked off, with initiatives funded in the budget review, and there is more to come throughout the year.
We will also continue to ensure that all Canberrans have access to the high quality city and community services they deserve, wherever they live. Minister Steel is overseeing the rollout of green bins, with all Canberrans to have access to a green bin by April of this year. We are undertaking a program to build new playgrounds and upgrade existing ones through a $1.9 million community-led play spaces forum.
Madam Speaker, the ACT has one of the fastest growing economies in the country. Our city’s population is growing because more people are finding secure, well-paying jobs in our city and are choosing to settle here. Canberra’s unemployment rate is now 3.6 per cent; that is a full 1.4 percentage points lower than the national rate. And we
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