Minister Barr: Budget: Caring for the environment

The ACT Government is a world leader in responding to global warming and caring for the environment. The Government has committed to powering the Territory through 100% renewable energy by 2020.

We are building on this reputation by protecting Canberra’s unique natural environment with an $18 million investment in the 2016-17 ACT Budget to improve water quality, manage environmental offsets and deliver sustainable development.

New initiatives will help protect and improve Canberra’s famous ‘bush capital’ ecosystem by improving water quality, protecting local wildlife, building resilience against climate change and building new suburbs in a sustainable way.

The ACT Government will also improve the health of Canberra’s lakes and waterways through a range of initiatives, including infrastructure projects such as wetlands, ponds, swales and creek stabilisation to improve water quality.

These measures ensure Canberra will remain the world’s most liveable city now and into the future.

Improving water quality across Canberra

The 2016-17 Budget will invest an extra $11.3 million into protecting and improving the water quality of Canberra’s lakes and waterways.

The funding includes:

• $5 million to upgrade the Isabella Weir in Canberra’s south, allowing residents to continuing living and using land on the banks of Lake Tuggeranong;
• $4 million to construct a new wetland to improve the water quality in Tuggeranong Pond and Lake Tuggeranong as well as downstream in the Murrumbidgee River; and
• $2.3 million over four years, for the ongoing operation and maintenance of water quality projects in Canberra’s six catchments.

Increasing our resilience to climate change;

$6.5 million will be invested to help the community adapt to and combat climate change.

This funding includes:

• $2 million in grants for low-income households to assist with the uptake of solar energy by overcoming upfront cost barriers;
• $200,000 to deliver actions contained in the ACT’s Climate Change Strategy;
• $625,000 for the continuation of Actsmart programs to help businesses become more sustainable;
• $3.5 million to extend the Energy Efficiency Improvement Scheme to help households become more sustainable. This is following successful initiatives such as the ActewAGL downlight program; and
• $150,000 for studies to identify best practice to overcome barriers and inform policies promoting the uptake of electric vehicles.

Building a sustainable Canberra

The ACT Government will provide $5.2 million over four years for environmental offsets associated with building new suburbs.

The Government is investing $5.2 million over four years for improvements to the natural temperate grasslands and their ecological communities, which are home to the golden sun moth, striped legless lizard and box gum woodland.

Protecting our local wildlife

The 2016-17 ACT Budget provides $1.7 million to protect local wildlife and support the welfare of Canberra’s domestic animals.

This includes:

• $700,000 to fight priority invasive weeds and control pest rabbit populations;
• $700,000 to assist in managing the impact of overgrazing by kangaroos in Canberra’s grassy ecosystems, home to endangered species such as the grassland earless dragon, perunga grasshopper and superb parrot; and
• $350,000 to construct four engineered log jams to improve water flow, increase channel depth and create an improved habitat for the critically endangered Murray Cod in the Murrumbidgee River at Tharwa.