Page 4423 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
We need to invest more in Indigenous traineeships, more in support for Indigenous workers in the sector who do not just work 9 to 5, and more in support for Aboriginal led and controlled organisations, for a start. We must genuinely engage in the NAIDOC theme of “Voice, treaty, truth” and we must do better.
Government—infrastructure plan
MR GUPTA (Yerrabi) (6.20): Today I would like to speak about the recently announced ACT infrastructure plan, which will bring great benefit to my electorate of Yerrabi and to Canberra as a whole.
As you all know Canberra is one of the world’s most livable cities. It is a great place to live, work, start a business and raise a family. That is why more and more people are moving to our city. By 2030, it is expected that Canberra will have a population of half a million. Gungahlin alone recorded growth of around 24,000 people between the 2011 and 2016 census takings, making it the second fastest growing community in Australia.
As our population continues to grow, our infrastructure needs to grow too. The ACT government understands that. The ACT infrastructure plan outlines over $14 billion worth of investment in infrastructure projects across Canberra. The investment will bring about significant and long-lasting benefits.
The Labor Government is delivering the public facilities and services that a growing city needs: free health care in our suburbs, more public schools, a bigger public transport network, new community centres and meeting spaces and the city services people want. New schools will be built and existing schools will be upgraded. Canberra Hospital will be expanded and health centres in our suburbs will be enhanced. Our public transport network will be bigger and better as our streets, parks and facilities will get the investment they need to continue to serve our growing community. Labor will build what we need at the right time.
Gungahlin is our city’s youngest region, and much of the growth is made up of young families who are buying their first home. I personally understand the joy, excitement, sweat and tears of raising a young family and the very exciting event that it is buying your first home. You are investing in a property that you and your family turn into a home and create beautiful memories in. Having local services nearby impacts greatly upon the quality of that experience.
One of my priorities as a local member of Yerrabi is to work for families. I want to support local Canberrans. One of the best ways to do that is to ensure that when people move to Canberra there is a good local school to send their children to, that there is an accessible health clinic, that there is a local park, and that there are local shops in the vicinity for that Sunday morning coffee or for shopping for the kids’ school lunch.
Our government has a plan to ensure that these new families have access to these services they need in their region, such as excellent schools, quality education and
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video