Hi there!

It's been just over six months since I was elected as your local member for Ginninderra. It's been a whirlwind few months getting up to speed on the workings of the ACT Legislative Assembly while working hard to represent your on the issues that matter. 

There's a lot of change in the ACT at the moment - including here in our Town Centre - and I hope you find this newsletter a useful update. 

If you ever need to get in touch with me, please call 6205 0100, email [email protected] or chat to me at one of my regular mobile offices at Jamison. 

What's in the ACT Budget for Belconnen?

The ACT Budget was handed down on 6 June. I'm proud to report it includes:

• $15 million to expand and complete the Belconnen Arts Centre, including new workshop, exhibition and performance spaces
• $16 million to operationalise the University of Canberra Public Hospital with clinical and non-clinical staff – getting the facility ready to open in mid-2018
• $4.7 million to design and construct the Belco Bikeway – a separated bike path throughout the Town Centre which will connect the Town Centre to surrounding suburbs
  
• Early planning will begin for the expansion of Bindubi Street and upgrade to William Hovell Drive
• $85 million for school classroom and facilities upgrades across Canberra, including at UC SSC Lake Ginninderra, Aranda Primary School and Melba Copland Secondary School
  
• A new black rapid bus between Belconnen and Gungahlin; travel for the first two months of this service will be free for everyone
• $5.9 million to continue Belconnen High School‘s modernisation, including equipment upgrades and refurbishment
  
• Page will share in $1.5 milliion for better footpaths, crossings and traffic islands
  
• Planning will begin for an indoor sports centre in Belconnen
  

Other key Budget items:

• $68 million expansion for the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and $236 million for a new Surgical Procedures, Interventional Radiology and Emergency Centre at Canberra Hospital
• Free off-peak bus travel for seniors and concession card holders
• Establishment of a container deposit scheme
  
• 16 new firefighters and 6 new police officers
• $4.5 million for increased road resealing across Canberra
• $1.3 million to tackle weeds in our nature reserves
• $1.9 million for suburban clean-up, including removing graffiti, weed control and to remove trees near powerlines across Canberra

An update on Republic (Section 200)

The development application for Stages 1A and 1B of Gecon's proposed new multi-use precinct Republic is open for public comment until 20 June 2017. You can have your say by emailing [email protected]. The Belconnen Community Council is having a special meeting where Geocon will discuss their plan in more detail at 7pm on Tuesday 13 June in the Community Room, upstairs from the Belconnen Library. 

Keep Public Service Jobs in Canberra!

In April the National Party leader Barnaby Joyce and deputy leader Fiona Nash announced a proposal of Australian Public Service decentralisation out of Canberra and to regional areas. Heads of public service agencies are being asked to justify why their agencies should not be moved out of Canberra and to regional areas like Armidale. 

This proposal has been announced as an attempt at job creation but it's actually about moving jobs rather than creating them - robbing Peter to pay Paul. This proposal presumes that Canberra's public servants are not people with families and communities, but chess pieces which can be moved at a whim. It presumes that Canberra is nothing more than a workplaces, when it is our home. 

Canberra was created as the nation's capital and the natural home of the public service. it should remain that way. 

This proposal threatens to ask families to choose between their jobs and their communities. It will have flow-on effects to our small businesses.

I have been campaigning strongly against this, speaking up in the media, leading motions in the ACT Assembly and getting out in the and about with a petition to keep public services jobs in Canberra where they belong. If you'd like to add your name to my petition, please sign it here.

Cleaning up Lake Ginninderra

In mid-May federal member for Fenner Andrew Leigh MP and I hosted a clean-up of Lake Ginninderra with the local community. While there is a great team at the Transport and City Services directorate working hard to keep the suburb looking good, a little TLC from the community never goes astray. Our efforts proved many hands make light work and we finished with a well-deserved BBQ. 

If you're interested in joining future community get-togethers like this, please email me at [email protected] or head here.

New footpath in College Street

You may have noticed work a few months ago to establish a concrete footpath along College Street next to the Oracle apartments - essentially formalising the 'goat track' that existed before. The ACT Government has a community path priority list and this path was a priority for the 2016-17 construction program. 

If you have any suggestions for more community improvements, please contact me. 

Upcoming Town Centre Events

7pm, 13 June: Meeting to discuss Republic development at Belconnen Library

11am-3pm, 8 July: NAIDOC by the Lake, Belconnen Arts Centre.

Until next time,