Minister Barr: 2017-18 ACT Budget - An even better, renewed Canberra
- Written by ACT Government
An even better, renewed Canberra
The 2017-18 ACT Budget delivers on the Government’s commitment to make Canberra an even better city.
Budget establishes a new City Renewal Authority to breathe new life into the CBD and Dickson, support the development of new buildings and public spaces along and around Northbourne Avenue and create a lakeside precinct in West Basin.
At the same time as the City Renewal Authority delivers a better CBD, a new Suburban Land Agency will release land in new green-field residential estates and provide renewal in our existing suburbs. The new agency, under the governance of a new board, will have a strong focus on affordable housing.
The Budget will deliver better services in the community including more parks, more green bins and waste services, better library services and cleaner, tidier suburbs.
The Budget also includes new measures to ensure that we grow our night-time economy so all Canberrans can have a safe and enjoyable night out in the city.
By building a better city and delivering better services in the community, this Budget will help keep Canberra the world’s most liveable city.
Building a Better City
The ACT Government will invest $80 million to improve the city centre and surrounds, revitalise town centres and improve the quality of our built environment.
This will be delivered through a variety of initiatives including:
- $59 million over four years to enable the City Renewal Authority to revitalise the CBD, Dickson and Northbourne Avenue and create a lakeside precinct in West Basin;
- $37.7 million to build Stage 2 of the West Basin Boardwalk
- $20 million to start the planning and development of the City Hill and Lakeside precincts.
- $1 million for cultural events, community engagement and business partnerships.
- $8 million over two years to revitalise our shopping precincts including new paving, landscaping, better outdoor furniture and lighting, and improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
- $8 million to construct an access road to the Canberra Brickworks precinct and associated upgrades to the surrounding road network.
- $4.7 million for design works and construction of the Belconnen Bikeway linking the Belconnen Town Centre with educational and health institutions and Lake Ginninderra.
Better services in your community
The ACT Government will invest over $30 million to make our suburbs even better.
This includes:
- $11.1 million to improve waste management, increasing recycling and reducing waste through regulatory changes, preparing for the rollout of a Territory wide bulky waste collection service from 2018-19 and introducing a container deposit scheme;
- $5.4 million for the Quality Sportsgrounds Program to keep our playing fields green and ready for use;
- $4.5 million over three years to resurface up to 150,000 square metres more of roads each year;
- $3.1 million to renovate Woden Town Library and improve public access to library records;
- $2.3 million for city services in our new suburbs, covering the maintenance of roads, paths, parkland, as well as essential services such as waste and recycling collections;
- $1.9 million over two years to remove more weeds along major roads, provide more street art coordination and graffiti removal, manage trees near power lines, improve maintenance at major entry roads into the ACT and the removal of decommissioned and aged assets such as old bubblers and outdated signage;
- $1.3 million over two years to better control weeds in Canberra’s urban open space, along rural roadsides and within our nature parks.;
- $1.2 million to ensure we can better manage animal welfare including more funding to the RSPCA and expanding the size of the pound; and
- $100,000 for a new natural play space in Giralang.
Safe and vibrant night-time economy
The ACT Government’s $5.3 million nightlife package will deliver a variety of initiatives including:
$4.9 million over four years for six additional police officers to patrol nightlife precincts, providing a stronger and more visible presence to boost public safety.
Supporting cafés and restaurants to host outdoor dining through a one-month discount on permit fees or a free one-month trial – expected saving to business of $181,000 over four years
