Page 2338 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 29 August 2007
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about $51 million in the 2007-08 budget for new roads and upgrades to our road network. This includes, among other projects, $15 million to improve movement in the road network around the airport; $1.2 million for the Southern Cross Drive extension; $3.4 million to duplicate Athllon Drive; $700,000 to make improvements to the Cotter Road; and $14.7 million for new roads in Canberra’s newest suburbs of Crace, Bonner and Forde. That is a significant investment of many millions of dollars.
While we are actively encouraging the use of sustainable transport methods, it is also the responsibility of government to ensure that we have adequate parking to cater for the needs of our motorists. To this end, the government has increased car parking in Canberra, providing $3.5 million in this financial year for new parking developments.
Of course, in an age of greenhouse gases and climate change, we must increasingly look to sustainable public transport methods. Accordingly, $56 million is provided for ACTION bus services, including funding to improve safety on buses. A further $16 million is provided for the replacement of the ageing bus fleet and to install a new ticketing system. For those people who shudder at the words “sustainable transport plan”, I would like to emphasise that we are putting in $56 million for ACTION bus services, and a further $16 million for extra buses, while $3.5 million is provided for car parking. So there is a ratio there which even they could understand.
An additional $5 million over four years is provided to maintain Canberra’s parks, playgrounds, suburban shopping centres and public open space; $2.9 million will be spent on improving shopping centres in Ainslie, Garran and Melba, including upgrades to lighting, pavement, drainage and street furniture; and $2.2 million is provided to upgrade local and district parks across the territory by improving playgrounds, barbecues, seating and shading areas, with enhancements ranging from a new flying fox at John Knight park to an exercise track at Edison park.
Mr Stefaniak: What about the tax on outdoor chairs and tables?
MR HARGREAVES: What we have not done is to paint grass green at stadiums, nor have we painted slogans on the sides of aeroplanes. We have not improved the look of the city by painting the grass green; we have in fact made provision for wheelchair-bound children to have the opportunity to experience the sensation of swinging, with $210,000 in funding provided for two new liberty swings at Yerrabi Ponds and another in the Tuggeranong area. More than $1.5 million will be spent over three years to maintain the city’s young trees and remove hazardous and dead trees, with over 2,300 dead or drought-affected trees to be removed from within the urban area alone.
This funding is in addition to the $55.1 million provided for the planning and maintenance of the city’s parks, plantations, reserves and open space area as ongoing budget—a $2.5 million increase in base funding from the last year, 2006-07, $40 million for road maintenance and $8 million for providing ranger functions, domestic animal management and other environmental regulation functions contributing directly or indirectly to improving the look and feel of the city.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question?
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