Page 2818 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 13 August 2019
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residents to access their local shops during peak pick-up and drop-off times at the nearby schools.
Our ACT government has outlined a commitment to build a new natural play space near Yerrabi Pond. Such new play spaces provide creative and imaginative experiences for children by using elements from the landscape, like logs and rocks, to encourage children to climb, jump and explore. Play is an incredibly important part of a child’s development, so it is fantastic to see this outlined in our budget.
The government is continuing to work to make our suburbs better places to live. The government will continue to implement the priorities mapped out in the better suburbs statement by providing more public rubbish and recycling bins and pick-ups, and by planting at least 17,000 more trees to renew Canberra’s urban forest. The better suburbs statement is guiding the government in progressively transitioning our investment in city services to the Canberra community’s highest priority areas.
Madam Speaker, to conclude, our ACT Labor government understands how important our transport system and the amenity of our services are to maintaining Canberra’s livability. This budget reflects our commitment to make our city even better. I commend this budget to the Assembly.
MR PETTERSSON (Yerrabi) (5.20): Our Labor government is investing in transforming our city’s transportation system. Our government believes in an interconnected, usable transport system that incorporates light rail, buses, bikes and cars to suit the needs of Canberrans. This year we completed light rail stage 1 and, in doing so, fulfilled part of the original vision for this city.
Canberra is growing fast, and we must continue with bold transport policies so that we do not fall into the gridlock trap that has befallen other Australian cities. We must also ensure that we continue to deliver the services that our suburbs need by growing our city services workforce.
In this budget the government is continuing to prioritise our transport network and to deliver equitable services, regardless of where you live. Infrastructure investment now will allow us to stay ahead of our growing population, and prevent us from suffering the congestion, commute times and urban decay that are now being felt in other major Australian cities.
According to the household, income and labour dynamics survey, commute times nationally have increased over the past decade. That is why the government is investing heavily in upgrading our transport system, so that Canberra does not become like Australia’s other more congested cities as we grow. Canberra is growing quickly, and that is why we must continue to invest in public transport infrastructure, road upgrades and better community services. As our city expands outwards and the population grows, we must have the infrastructure in place to cope with this growth. That is why this government has invested and will continue to invest in our infrastructure.
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