Page 2282 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 4 August 2021
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their time to help the community during traumatic times. I am very proud of our corrections staff, who work to rehabilitate offenders and provide them with opportunities to make a life for themselves away from the criminal justice system.
These people make our community a safer and, therefore, a better place to live. The ACT government will continue to support the commitment and dedication of those women and men by investing in the capital works and projects to help them do their jobs effectively.
As the population grows beyond half a million in the next decade, we know that a well thought out plan is needed to ensure that all Canberrans have appropriate access to police and emergency services.
We are already delivering on a pipeline of projects listed in the 2019 Infrastructure Plan. In the 2019-20 budget, the government provided over $9 million, over four years, to improve the existing ACT Policing accommodation infrastructure. Furthermore, in line with the 2019 Infrastructure Plan, a new accommodation solution for road policing is in the process of being delivered. I have recently announced that a 15-year lease has been signed for the new road policing centre site at Hume. The ACT government provided nearly $5 million in funding to fit out the modern facility and relocate some 80 police from the current traffic operation centre in Belconnen in March next year. The new facility is on a 6,000 square metre site, which will fit the needs of a growing police force into the future. It will include office space, training rooms, labs, workshops, storage and vehicle parking.
In addition to supporting the growing needs of police, the government is working with the ESA to help it meet community expectation and response times. This includes the support needed for both the volunteer and paid work force. More than $40 million has been committed to the construction of a joint ACT Fire & Rescue and ACT Ambulance Service station at Acton. This will support the ESA to deliver timely servicing for these critical functions to the city and its surrounds.
In addition, the government is looking at improving its police and emergency services footprint in Canberra’s north. Work is also progressing to better meet the emergency service and policing needs of communities living in the Gungahlin region.
The focus on investment in corrections is on improving support for detainees and providing the best opportunity for them to be reintegrated into the community. As minister, I acknowledged that reform and improvement are critical to better outcomes in ACT prisons. This is being backed up by the investment in areas to improve the system.
I wish to acknowledge the hard work corrections officers do. I am constantly impressed by the work they do in challenging circumstances, and I assure them that they will be provided with as much support as possible to do these difficult jobs.
Our police, emergency services and corrections staff play an important role in making the ACT such a liveable city. I am honoured to be their minister. As we move towards developing an updated Infrastructure Plan, the focus will be on ensuring a strategic
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