Page 1409 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2009
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from $400,000 in 2009-10, rising to $762,000 in 2011-12. These costs are mainly related to depreciation expenses.
The local initiatives package was put together with the aim of boosting business confidence in the ACT, particularly in areas of uncertainty where emerging capacity was expected, such as the building and construction industry. As I have outlined, the works proposed in this package are to be delivered locally by a range of trades: builders, plumbers, roofers, painters, electricians, plasterers, landscape specialists and so on.
This package has three main outcomes. Firstly, it provides assistance for the building and construction industry, which has been affected by the deteriorating national economy, by utilising its emerging capacity. Secondly, it will ensure a continued level of activity over the next two years by providing employers with confidence to retain a level of resources which may have otherwise been let go. Thirdly, it will also provide some stability to the local economy in a responsible and responsive manner to help buffer the industry against the trickle-down impacts of national economic uncertainty.
In the face of the current financial crisis it was important that the government develop a response, with strict criteria. We focused on projects that will provide some measure of job support to the local industry; that will extend the asset useful life of our own asset base; that will address or utilise the potentially emerging capacity in the building and construction sector; that will be at a mature stage of design and procurement with works that are able to commence as soon as possible; that, once those works are commenced, are able to be undertaken and completed on time and on budget; and that has a very low cost to the territory’s operating budget. Those were the criteria with which the bill was put together.
There has been some good progress to date on preparing to deliver these initiatives through our own internal planning process, development of functional briefs, early engagement with community and drafting of procurement documentation. However, the next step of the process, the passage of this bill today, is obviously the most important. We will then see works begin to be delivered across the territory.
We have consulted with industry, we have listened to our procurement experts and we have responded with our means and our ability to deliver. We acknowledge that the package is modest, consisting of a range of small projects that can be actioned quickly. We acknowledge that the package did not respond to other sectors such as business, tourism, retail or IT industries, but this was with good reason. These are areas that require a greater level of consideration, and, rightly, this work will be, and is being, undertaken in the context of developing the territory’s annual budget. These are areas that often require a longer term level of investment rather than the short-term focus of this package on already identified infrastructure-related work.
While it is not reflected in the bill, I would like the opportunity to highlight the second important element of the package, which was the pre-announcement of the capital upgrades program—an investment totalling $44.3 million. While the capital upgrades program would usually be announced as part of our annual budget process, we believed it was prudent and responsible to announce the projects and funding
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