Sun is rising on a bright future for the capital we love
Katy Gallagher - Labor
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I have worked hard to develop a bright future for our city since becoming Chief Minister 16 months ago. For Labor, this campaign has put forward a detailed policy agenda which seeks to chart a new path for Canberra by focussing on health, education and jobs.
We have focused on protecting jobs and creating new ones, building and transforming our health system, and developing Canberra into a true education destination for local, national and international students.
Health and education are each important in their own right but when they are combined and leveraged together, they can change our city for the better and build a stronger economy. Together they can help us become the economic and service heart of the south-east region and deliver sustainable, high-skill industries of tomorrow with high-skill, high-salary jobs.
Through growing the health and education economy, they will also give Canberrans greater control over our city's destiny, creating an economic base that is better able to withstand the highs and lows of federal government spending decisions.
We have a historic opportunity to get the fundamentals right - jobs, education and health - and build on the connections between them. This will give us the strong economic base the governments of the future, whatever their political colour, will need to deliver the high-quality education and health services and the clean and connected environment Canberrans rightly want in the city we love.
Labor has worked hard to deliver good government in the ACT. We have been able to combine prudent financial management with a socially progressive outlook. It's a combination that has seen us retain our Triple-A credit rating when other states have not been so fortunate. It's an approach that has kept our economy one of the strongest in the country, with a jobless rate that is the lowest in the country.
In recent years we have begun a massive infrastructure program, which is creating high-quality public infrastructure for now and future generations, as well as creating jobs in the private sector. This includes a $1.3 billion investment in hospitals and health facilities, an overhaul of education infrastructure with new schools and upgrades to ageing schools. It also includes investment in public transport, roads, local parks and places - creating beautiful places for us to enjoy. At the same time we are turning the nation's capital into a solar capital, with construction of the nation's biggest solar power station. We've secured our water supply for decades to come, we're about to start work on the Majura Parkway and we will begin the next step on Capital Metro, Canberra's light rail project.
We live in a young modern city with a bright future which is ours to determine. Labor's vision for Canberra is positive and forward-looking, with clear goals. My commitment to you, the electors to whom we are accountable, is to be a diligent, honest and committed chief minister who will spend every day working in the interests of the entire Canberra community.
Solid commitment to deliver on building a better city for all
Zed Seselja - Canberra Liberals
This election is about choice. In every major area, there is a difference between voting Liberal and voting for Labor or the Greens. In every area, Canberra will be better off with the Liberals.
Health: After 11 years of Labor, the ACT health system has gone from one of the best-performing systems in the country to one of the worst.
The Canberra Liberals have a $7 billion plan, including $224 million to get waiting times down. We will open a new sub-acute hospital and introduce new Urgent Care Clinics in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong with doctors and nurses to take the pressure off emergency departments. We will also deliver 5500 more elective surgery operations, 60 additional general in-patient and two critical care beds at Calvary Hospital and 40 new general in-patient and six new intensive care beds at Canberra Hospital.
Education: The Canberra Liberals will provide $204 million to upgrade government schools, focusing on those most in need first. The Teacher Professional Learning Fund will be doubled and more counsellors will be added. We will provide over $48 million extra in the first term for non-government schools, which currently receive the lowest government support in the country.
We would also fund a new autism school to assist children with ASD, using a specialised model currently running successfully in other states. This will not be provided under a Labor Greens government.
Better roads and transport: The Canberra Liberals will commit $700 million to improve roads and transport, including thousands of new car parks, free shuttle bus trials in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong.
Our Infrastructure Canberra Plan means projects will be well planned and money well spent. If elected, we will duplicate Athllon Drive, Horse Park Drive and William Slim Drive. For too long, basic services have been neglected.
We have announced many upgrades to our sports grounds and playing fields, street scaping and footpath repair and maintenance, and the Canberra Liberals will immediately start work on a $5 million plan to clean up the streets and the city.
The Canberra Liberals will also provide a pool for Lanyon, something Labor or the Greens won't do, and provide Canberrans with a green bin for garden waste, a core service that has long been neglected but which the Canberra Liberals will deliver.
Lower cost of living and no triple rates: Labor has announced they are abolishing stamp duty and other charges. These are taxes worth over $340 million every year. All that money has to be replaced. Labor still haven't explained how they will replace it - unless they triple rates. The Canberra Liberals will halve stamp duty for first home buyers, cut car registration for those who pay in instalments and will not let Labor or the Greens triple rates.
This election is about choice. Urgent care clinics or not. A green bin or not. An autism school, or not. A pool for Lanyon, or not. More car parks, or not. Better roads, or not. And lower cost of living, or tripled rates. It's that simple.
A vibrant vision of a healthier time in a modern environment
Meredith Hunter - ACT Greens
Over the past four years, Canberrans have seen that the Greens have been a responsible force for real improvements to our city. We have delivered on what we promised the electorate last time and that's what we will do in the next assembly.
This time, the people of the ACT can see the exact cost of every Greens policy as verified by Treasury. They know what we stand for and what we will deliver if elected to the next assembly: a healthier, more liveable and better connected city.
Through this election campaign, we've shown that we have the vision for how Canberra can become a city ready for the 21st century, while retaining its character and natural beauty.
Our vision of a healthier Canberra is not just about the health system, it's about the well-being of the community. While the Greens support growing our hospital system, we also want to ensure that primary and preventative health is a focus.
Many people enter our hospital system with conditions that early intervention and primary care could have remedied; prevention is always better than cure.
Amanda Bresnan has put forward a plan for preventative health measures such as mobile health clinics and a package of initiatives, including a ban on junk food advertising to children, to keep our kids healthy.
Making Canberra more liveable is about building a resilient and sustainable city while retaining its character and natural beauty. Caroline Le Couteur has spent four years taking on the complex planning system and fighting for community rights, keeping open spaces and making sure the right development happens in the right places. Caroline has also fought for better funding for urban trees, waste services, community paths; the basic services which make Canberra more liveable.
Another important part of a liveable city is a safe city. Shane Rattenbury has led the push for better liquor laws and tackled alcohol-related violence.
There has been a reduction in levels of violence, but the Greens want to do more to ensure people can go out and enjoy themselves.
Creating a better connected Canberra is all about people - making it easier to get around, making services more easily accessible, and using technology to enhance our town centres and make them more vibrant. A key initiative the Greens have taken to this election is a commitment to construct light rail - a transformative project that will set Canberra up for its second century.
We have also outlined a plan to improve our bus network and roll out free Wi-Fi in town centres and on public transport, which will help local businesses and create a more vibrant city. The Greens' vision for a healthier, more liveable and better connected Canberra is underpinned by real and achievable initiatives. All of our policies are on our website, and all of our election commitments have been fully costed, and verified by Treasury. That's why voters can be confident that a vote for the Greens is a vote for a capable team that can deliver a sustainable Canberra.