Over the past three months the Sunday Canberra Times has asked the parties and candidates contesting next weekend’s ACT election where they stand on a range of issues from health, to transport, to the environment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Today we compile those answers to give readers an overview of where the major parties stand on the issues that will decide who forms the next ACT government and the individuals elected to the Legislative Assembly.
Greens Convener Meredith Hunter, left, Labor leader and Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and Liberal Opposition leader Zed Seselja. Photo: Graham Tidy
Health
LABOR
- New nurse-led walk-in centres in the Belconnen and Tuggeranong town centres - $15 million.
- New public hospital at the University of Canberra.
- Establish and operate a mobile clinic to provide dental care to residential aged care facilities, special schools and pregnant and parenting students - $1.6 million.
- Sixty-nine more beds and 100 more medical staff at Calvary Public Hospital - $60 million.
- More cancer outpatient services, more doctors and nurses for cancer services, expanded lymphedema services and support for Australian National University cancer research - $20 million.
- Nineteen extra beds for the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children - $30 million.
- New mental health beds, community mental health services, new support services and about 70 new mental health staff - $30 million.
- Meet growing demand for elective surgery with 5000 extra operations - $80 million.
LIBERALS
- Urgent care clinics with both nurses and doctors in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin.
- A new northside 200-bed sub-acute hospital.
- Preventative health programs - $1 million a year.
- Self-management of chronic diseases programs - $200,000 a year.
- General practitioner support - $5 million.
GREENS
- Increase in mental health funding - $35 million.
- Establish a Mobile Primary Health Clinic, staffed by GP and nurse practitioner, open 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
- Support establishment of University of Canberra public sub-acute hospital, and expansion of nurse-led walk-in clinics.
- Legislate against junk food advertising that is directed at children via avenues such as prime time television, in cinemas, and on bus shelters.
- Dental hygienists, to improve preventative public dental services - $1.9 million over four years.
- Advanced Care Planning, so people can record what medical treatment they want to receive in future and have that treatment followed - $1.248 million over four years.
- Public Lymphoedema services at the Calvary Lymphoedema Clinic - $624,000 over four years.
- Conduct a feasibility study into opening a second hospice run by ACT Health.
Education
LABOR
- New Canberra College Cares centre to expand education opportunities for pregnant or parenting students - $14.5 million
- Upgrade Belconnen High - $28 million. New library resources for public primary schools - $1 million
- Needs-based funding to support non-government students during the next four years - $18.5 million
- CIT Tuggeranong Learning Centre - $7.5 million
- New primary school at Coombs in the Molonglo Valley - $51 million over four years
- Funding to support students with learning disabilities - $10 million over four years
- Maintain and expand the School Literacy and Numeracy Field Officer program - $12.1 million
LIBERALS
- Canberra's first autism school
- Flashing lights in school zones
- A 50 per cent increase in school counsellors and other upgrades for government schools
- Doubling the Teacher Professional Development Fund
- Establishing an Education Commissioner
- Increase per capita funding for non-government schools
- State-of-the-art practical health training for nurses and paramedics
GREENS
- Increased English as an additional dialect support, a feasibility study for accommodation at Dickson College, and a family worker for the Introductory English Centres - $4.2 million
- Two new multi-disciplinary student assistance teams - $3 million
- School gardens, school canteen upgrades, and extra health promotions and a ban on junk food advertising - $5.8 million
- Help for students with disabilities in non-government schools - $8.4 million
- More school buses and a new survey to ensure routes are better planned - $3 million
Tourism
LABOR
- Establish direct international flights into Canberra in partnership with the Canberra Airport and tourism industry
- Tourism events and marketing to attract more visitors to Canberra - $12.2 million
- Extend the blockbuster fund - $1 million each year for four years
- Expand the Enlighten Festival
- Additional funding for the National Capital Educational Tourism Project to encourage more schools to visit Canberra - $400,000
- Additional funding to the Canberra Convention Bureau - $400,000
LIBERALS
- A feasibility study for a Bushfire Museum
- Establish Marketing and Tourism Agency
- Encourage ''grey nomad'' tourism
- Commit to a study for the Convention Centre
GREENS
- Provide funding to develop the financial model for the Australia Forum - $225,000
- Develop a Grey Nomad Tourism Strategy - $150,000
- Create 10-year ACT accommodation strategy
- Canberra familiarisation program for federal parliamentarians - $15,000
- Increase funding for education tourism - $200,000
Roads and transport
LABOR
- Encourage and reward good drivers by providing a 20 per cent discount on licence renewals - $4.66 million
- Construction of an off-road cycle path adjacent to the Majura Parkway - $12 million
- Active Transport program that will focus on the safety of children - $4 million over four years
- Establish the ACT's first large-scale private sector partnership to plan, finance and develop the first stage of a light rail network for Canberra - $30 million
- Upgrade and duplicate Ashley Drive between Erindale Drive and Johnson Drive - $19.6 million
LIBERALS
- Thousands of extra parking spots across Canberra
- More parking for Gartside Street in Erindale
- Road upgrades, including duplicating Horse Park, William Slim and Athllon drives - $700 million
- Credit-card parking machines
- Free trial shuttle service in the suburbs
- Reinstate Barry Drive T2 lane
- Install flashing lights in all ACT school zones
- More secure bike racks
GREENS
- Start the construction of light rail, manage its implementation through an independent authority and create a master plan to expand light rail across Canberra - $200 million
- Additional funding for better bus services - $31 million
- More funding to walking and cycling infrastructure - $15 million
Municipal services
LABOR
- Free Wi-Fi in town centres, bus interchanges and on ACTION buses - $2.9 million over four years
- Local centre upgrades - $11 million
- 50 metre indoor swimming pool in Weston Creek - $33 million
- 80 new car parking spaces at Cooleman Court
- More buses and improved public transport links to the city
- A new home of sport for Weston Creek and the Molonglo Valley - $11 million
LIBERALS
- A third bin for garden waste
- An extra $5 million to clean up Canberra
- Extra street sweeping - $1 million
- Credit-card parking machines
- Repeal the ban of wood fire heaters
- A pool for Lanyon
- A master plan for Tuggeranong
GREENS
- Feasibility study for a Lanyon library
- Urban Tree Trust - $4 million
- Waste education program, free composting equipment for up to 21,000 houses - $2 million
- Recycling bins in town centres - $1.8 million
- Additional funding for RSPCA - $400,000
- Improved animal welfare standards
Women and family
LABOR
- More childcare places, new centres and better trained staff - $5.5 million over four years
- Upgrade childcare centres to create up to 100 new childcare places across Canberra - $4.5 million
- Release at least three additional sites for new childcare centres
- Ninety more scholarships for early childhood educators to obtain a Certificate III in children's services - $740,000
LIBERALS
- Repeal the tripling of rates
- Abolish quarterly and half-yearly penalties on car registration
GREENS
- Gender impact statements and enhanced responses to violence against women
- Expansion of the Pregnancy to Parenting Program - $416,000 over four years
- Feasibility study into opening a stand-alone birth centre
Disabilities
LABOR
- Payroll tax concessions for businesses that employ school leavers with a disability - $1.48 million
- Build and service two six-bedroom houses that provide accommodation for disability tenants with low support needs - $3.75 million
- Build three independent-living housing complexes - $3 million
- An electronic ''Taxi Smart-Card'' system for people with a disability who rely on taxi services
LIBERALS
- Set up Canberra's first autism-specific school
GREENS
- Introduce a stand-alone, wheelchair-accessible taxi service, review taxi subsidy eligibility criteria and increase disability parking
Ageing
LABOR
- Support older Canberrans to be engaged members of our community and help reduce their cost of living - $5.21 million over four years
- Expand the Community Bus Service - $2.3 million
- Establish more Men's Sheds - $2.2 million
- Host an ACT Older Persons Assembly - $50,000
- Lower the qualifying age for the Seniors Gold Card from 75 to 70 years, providing free bus travel for 8800 more Canberrans - $620,000
LIBERALS
- A third bin for garden waste
- Making the Chief Minister responsible for the Office of the Ageing
- A genuine land bank for aged care accommodation and retirement villages
- Grants to support veterans organisations
GREENS
- Host the Older Persons Assembly every two years
- New funding to expand Advance Care Planning - $1.25 million
Youth
LABOR
- Establish a trauma recovery centre - $2.2 million over four years
- Expand the Parents as Teachers program - $1.4 million
- Expand therapeutic intervention services for young people - $1.2 million over four years
- Increase the number of youth engagement workers - $2.5 million over four years
LIBERALS
- Halve stamp duty for first home buyers
- Reduce the unit tax
GREENS
- Review of the Kinship carers and foster carers payments
- New kinship carers training package - $800,00
- New community-based post-care support agency for foster children - $1.5 million
- Youth centres and new youth engagement workers - $4.9 million
- Community sector reforms and development, to reverse the ''tax'' on the sector - $1.6 million
More from Canberra
More from Canberra