Page 2249 - Week 07 - Thursday, 27 August 2020
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So it is from this strong foundation that we drive the ACT’s economic recovery. So today I am releasing our $4.9 billion ACT jobs and economic recovery plan. To maximise immediate employment benefits, it includes an infrastructure investment program that is varied in financial size and in the nature of the work and projects. The plan prioritises building health, education, public transport, public housing, sustainable energy and urban renewal projects for the long-term benefit of Canberrans.
We will invest more than $1 billion in transport and active travel projects, including over $300 million in the forward estimates extending light rail; more than $900 million on health-care infrastructure, including the $624 million Canberra Hospital expansion; more than $400 million to build and upgrade our public schools; and between $250 million and $300 million in building the new CIT Woden and Woden public transport interchange.
The package also includes an additional investment of $61 million, topping up our public housing renewal program to over $1 billion over 10 years. We are now halfway through the delivery of that most significant public housing renewal program in the territory’s self-governing history. We are supporting local jobs and confidence in the construction sector, with a clear pipeline of work over the next decade.
The plan also includes more immediate support to businesses and Canberra households. Having already injected $159 million in 2019-20 in the initial economic survival measures to protect jobs and support businesses and households, we will invest a further $724 million to support and create more jobs and continue to deliver essential services. This includes a $200 million investment into our health system so that it is ready for whatever the pandemic brings and whatever lies ahead for public health.
We are providing $108 million in fee relief for households and the community and another $65 million in fee relief for businesses, in addition to the $40 million that was provided in the last quarter of 2019-20. Some $23 million is being allocated to community support programs, additional mental health services and food relief. The government is stepping in to protect jobs in our local community sector when commonwealth payments for the equal remuneration order end in November of 2021.
We are setting an ambitious target for jobs because it is essential for all Canberrans to know that our focus is on protecting their jobs and creating new jobs as our city grows and recovers. Our policies and investments will support over 250,000 people being employed by 2025.
While public investment at this time is absolutely critical, maintaining confidence in non-government sectors is equally important to Canberra’s future, and the plan outlines how the government intends to support employment growth in a wide variety of industry sectors from tertiary education, renewable energy, innovation and the arts to defence, space, national security and cyber industries.
Before the pandemic and the associated global economic crisis, we had reached a record level of employment in the territory—238,300 Canberrans were employed. In
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