Page 283 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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After a detailed community engagement process in mid-September 2019, we released our updated ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019-25 and Canberra’s Living Infrastructure Plan: Cooling the City. In the 2019-20 budget review, we deliver five initiatives associated with the strategy and one initiative associated with the plan. In short, we continue to get on with the job of implementing effective actions to further reduce our emissions and increase our resilience to climate change.
Additionally, the government is making more than $7.8 million of investments across environment and planning. Extra resources will strengthen the number of environmental protection initiatives, including the ACT Waterwatch and ranger assist programs, where Lake Tuggeranong will see water quality improvements associated with the construction of a pollutant trap and other water-flow controls. We have also taken steps to protect endangered species. The Orroral Valley fire has resulted in significant ecological damage to the region, serving as a stark reminder to all of us of the importance of both protecting and regenerating our unique landscape.
The fires have also had an extensive impact on our business community, particularly the tourism industry, so I am pleased to announce additional funding of $16.5 million over four years to support the tourism industry by strengthening Canberra’s major venues and events. We are also providing further support for health services as part of the budget review, progressing work on significant projects underway, including the surgical procedures, interventional radiology and emergency centre at the Canberra Hospital. With more than half-a-billion dollars invested in the Canberra Hospital campus, the project will deliver increased capacity across the hospital’s adult intensive care, paediatric intensive care, surgical and emergency services.
The design of the new inner north walk-in centre is also complete, with works to follow, and planning stages for additional surgical theatres and neurology services at Calvary Public Hospital are advancing. Similarly, planning stages for additional mental health and pharmacy services at the Canberra Hospital are underway. Government is also investing an additional $59.7 million in Canberra Health Services as part of the appropriation. This supplementary funding will help to meet the increasing demand on healthcare services, particularly for elective and emergency surgery.
Our emergency department presentations continue to grow and are becoming more complex. Last year we had the longest and busiest flu season this century. This means that we have had an additional 547 emergency surgeries in the first half of the financial year when compared to last and an additional 2,569 emergency department presentations. To meet these demand pressures, our funding provision has meant an additional 16 beds opened during a long winter and an additional 136 frontline team members including doctors, nurses and allied health workers employed.
Our future education strategy will be further expanded through initiatives designed to support safe and supportive school environments for students, teachers and staff. A further $23 million will complete our 2016 election commitment to construct a preschool to year 10 campus in the Molonglo Valley with a new year 7 to 10 campus to be constructed alongside the Molonglo preschool to year 6 school. Government will
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