Page 1661 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 9 May 2018
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with disabilities, just to name a few. Not only do we need to build more education infrastructure to keep up with a growing population but we need to ensure that Canberra schools are delivering world-class education outcomes. Our schools must be able to prepare students for opportunities that the future will bring.
Maintaining Canberra suburbs may not be the most exciting topic to all, but it greatly affects the general livability of our city. Every year the government makes over 6.8 million household rubbish collections and 3.5 million household recycling collections. The recently rolled out container deposit scheme will encourage more Canberrans to recycle and keep our city clean, and they get 10c per deposit. This means we are on track to meet our target of 90 per cent resource recovery by 2025. As part of this, the government is rolling out green bins across Canberra. As Canberrans are such avid gardeners, this service will ensure that green waste is being disposed of in a more efficient way that is ultimately better for the environment.
Each year, the ACT government mows 30,000 hectares of grass across our suburbs and along arterial roads and maintains around 2,500 kilometres of footpaths. The government also manages our increasing stormwater levels, particularly from our new suburbs—approximately 4,000 kilometres of stormwater pipes in total. The recent flooding events in Canberra’s north shows the vital importance of this infrastructure and the importance of its development as our population grows.
It is important that all Canberra suburbs have convenient local shops. I am glad progress has been made on the development of the Giralang shops. This has been something constituents have been calling for for a long time. It is good to see the developer, the community and the government are working together to fix this issue.
Part of what makes Canberra such a livable city is our beautiful open spaces. These open spaces require maintenance to keep them looking good in vital public areas. In Canberra’s urban forests, over 760,000 trees are maintained and over 1,300 new trees are being planted over the next three years to replace diseased or dangerous trees and in new green areas. These trees provide shade, habitat for our native wildlife and help make Canberra the beautiful city that it is.
Our government manages a huge range of public services and spaces: 507 playgrounds, 280 irrigated sportsgrounds, nine public libraries, 112 urban lakes and ponds, and 79,000 street lights. As a local government, we believe in funding public goods. All these amenities ensure Canberrans enjoy public spaces that are clean and safe. Encouraging active Canberrans who are engaged in their local communities could not occur without usable public spaces, so the importance of this work cannot be overstated.
Canberra is becoming a tourist destination for domestic and international visitors. Initiatives by our government will ensure tourism to our city continues to grow, bringing with it a huge boost to our economy. The upgrade to the Canberra Airport has created more choice for visitors and Canberrans. Tiger Air, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways all fly out of Canberra Airport, allowing for cheaper domestic flights and direct international ones as well. These services will boost Canberra’s
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