Page 2828 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 6 October 2021
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This fiscal strategy is a continuation of what we outlined in August last year, and again in the 2020-21 budget delivered in the unusual time frame of February this year.
At this point in time it is important that governments at all levels across Australia continue to drive demand in our economy by embracing expansionary fiscal policy and increasing spending and investment. This is what we are seeing at the national level and what we anticipate seeing across state and territory budgets through this fiscal year and next.
Our decision to invest in Canberra at this point in time gives the private sector the confidence to also invest and to keep people in jobs.
And our ongoing health response to the pandemic gives every employer, and every worker, the necessary confidence to take the next steps forward in our recovery.
Infrastructure Investment Program
The budget sets out the largest ever infrastructure program in the territory’s history, at $5 billion over five years. This is a program that will make Canberra an even better city to live in that is also going to create thousands of good local jobs.
The government’s investment priorities continue to be in health, education, public transport, public housing, climate action and urban renewal.
This includes large, medium and small-scale investments across the city, including:
• $870 million invested in the health infrastructure that we need for a growing population, including the delivery of the Canberra Hospital expansion;
• more than $950 million invested in TAFE and school infrastructure, CIT and education infrastructure that will not only maintain and improve existing schools and plan for future school infrastructure needs but also progress the development of new schools in growth areas across Canberra;
• a $1.4 billion investment over five years to upgrade and expand our city’s sustainable and connected transport network, which includes undertaking a city-wide package of better bike paths and footpaths, many road projects and, of course, taking light rail to Woden;
• we will also be spending nearly $20 million in suburban shopping centre upgrades, $10 million, nearly, to progress the Throsby home of football, and over $5 million for new and upgraded playgrounds around Canberra—from the big to the medium to the small infrastructure projects right across the city; and
• we will continue to invest in community facilities and build more green spaces, play spaces and dog parks to make Canberra suburbs even better.
We will measure our success not only through economic growth but how well we do as individuals, as a community, and as a place in which to live, utilising our wellbeing framework.
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