Category: MIL-OSI

The ACT Government is funding the next stage of the Canberra Theatre Centre revitalisation in the 2024–25 Budget.

Major Projects Canberra will collaborate an industry partner which will be engaged through an early contractor involvement (ECI) delivery model.

They will work in partnership to complete the project.

A two-stage process will begin in July to confirm the industry partner.

Construction approvals for the redevelopment will be sought in 2025.

The expanded Canberra Theatre Centre will enhance Civic as a live entertainment and hospitality destination.

This will provide opportunities for Canberrans to come together and connect, and will lead to more jobs.

A transformed Canberra Theatre Centre

The Canberra Theatre Centre revitalisation will create a performing arts centre of national and international significance. It will include:

• a new 2,000-seat lyric theatre (suitable for musicals, opera and ballet)
• a refurbishment of The Playhouse and Canberra Theatre
• expanding the studio theatre for flexible use by local artists for intimate shows
• improved accessibility and connections to the precinct
• hospitality offerings, including bars.

Project benefits

This project offers benefits for the whole community.

• First Nations Connection to Country are celebrated and acknowledged through design.
• Canberra will be able to attract and enjoy world-renowned musicals, circus shows, ballet and opera without the need for expensive interstate travel.
• Canberra will have a world-class theatre and cultural precinct.
• More visitors to the ACT will grow the local economy.
• The city centre will be enhanced as a lively destination for dining and entertainment – day and night.
• The project will create more jobs in the arts, hospitality and construction. With more career pathways for emerging creatives and technicians, more arts workers will remain in Canberra.
• The Centre will be a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
• The revitalised Canberra Theatre Centre will feature sustainable, green-star all-electric design.
• The project will generate more opportunities, networks and audiences for Canberra’s performing arts sector.

Share your thoughts on the centre’s design

Previous community consultation responses highlighted that the centre’s design should prioritise:

• First Nations Connection to Country
• Accessibility requirements for people with disability, mental health conditions and neurodiversity
• High-quality audience experience and usability
• Connection to the wider entertainment precinct.

The ACT Government wants to explore these ideas further with specific stakeholder communities.

Dedicated engagement sessions are planned, both in person and online.

Personal experiences and insights shared in these sessions will help ensure better access, inclusion and diversity in the design.

Register your interest and the team will be in touch to understand your requirements to enable your attendance.

Find out more on the Built for CBR website.

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The ACT Government will provide funding in the 2024-25 ACT Budget to continue the planning and development of a new Canberra Convention and Entertainment Centre.

The centre will form part of an events and entertainment precinct proposed for the south-east section of the CBD that includes the current convention centre site and the Canberra Olympic Pool site.

Master-planning for the new precinct will see concept designs developed for an integrated convention and entertainment centre for live music, events and performances.

The ACT Government will invest in site investigations and concept design options for the replacement of the ageing Canberra Olympic Pool to provide aquatic facilities for the city’s growing population in Commonwealth Park.

The ACT Government will continue to work with the Australian Government under the National Capital Investment Framework and through the Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program to progress infrastructure projects such as the Convention and Entertainment Centre.

As Canberra’s population nears half a million people, this project is important for the local tourism and business sector, ensuring Canberra is a more attractive tour option for live music and entertainment.

Bruce Sports, Health, and Education Precinct update

Further funding will be provided in the 2024-25 ACT Budget to progress development of the Bruce Sports, Health, and Education Precinct.

The ACT Government intends to partner with the Commonwealth Government to develop a mixed-use urban renewal precinct, which will include housing, commercial, hospitality and retail opportunities to support sport, health and education infrastructure projects.

Through the 2024-25 Budget, the Government will also progress planning for the new Northside Hospital, a renewed CIT campus and a new stadium.

This work will complement the Commonwealth Government’s AIS precinct renewal announced in the recent Federal Budget.

The Government will consider options for the development, including the optimal delivery model and the declaration of an urban renewal site.

This declaration will help coordinate ACT Government Directorates and agencies to work together on the precinct planning.

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The ACT Government is resourcing a four-year elective surgery plan to deliver 60,000 elective surgeries and to expand operating theatre capacity in public health services.

Despite the challenges impacting elective surgeries in recent years, Canberra Health Services is on track to perform a record number of elective surgeries this financial year.

Additional funding in the 2024-25 ACT Budget will further support the territory-wide surgery teams to continue this work across the ACT’s hospitals.

More endoscopies will be delivered thanks to the recent expansion and upgrade of the endoscopy suites at North Canberra Hospital.

Additional theatre capacity at Canberra Hospital in the new Critical Services Building will be essential to improve timely access to emergency surgeries and increase the total capacity for elective surgeries performed at Canberra Hospital.

Increased operating theatre sessions during evenings and weekends, and more surgical inpatient beds to support growing emergency surgery demand are a critical part of this investment.

The Government has also committed to deliver an additional 300 cataract surgeries through partnerships with private facilities.

The ACT Budget will support services and initiatives across the public hospital network, including acute care for older people across our public hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation at the University of Canberra Hospital, services for critically ill newborns and expanded maternity services.

Total investment in health next year is a record $2.6 billion. This will deliver more health services, infrastructure, support for the health workforce, and $52.7 million will be allocated to support the elective surgery plan.

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All over the Territory, students from preschool to Year 12 are racing to the finish line for the 20th Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge.

Around 25,000 ACT students have registered this year, with many others inspired to pick up a book along the way.

To complete the challenge, primary students read 30 books, while older students read 15 titles – all before the 5 July deadline.

Schools achieving 100 per cent completion – with students registered in one of five age categories – will be recognised during an awards ceremony next term.

But everyone’s a winner in this event. Year four students at Miles Franklin Primary School in Evatt received a visit this week from local mystery, thriller and suspense writer Jack Heath.

Jack has been an ambassador for the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge for around 10 years.

Like the school’s namesake, Jack grew up around Canberra and began writing novels in his teens. He has written more than twice as many novels as Stella Miles Franklin, though – 40 at last count.

Jack has been involved in author visits to schools for his whole adult life. He recalls meeting an author through school himself as a Lyneham Primary School student. At the school librarian’s invitation, he joined an excursion and met another local author, Jackie French.

Jack shared some tips for families keen to keep their kids reading. He says not to be afraid of ‘gateway books’, like graphic novels and audio books.

“You want reading to always feel like a treat. That means finding topics and content that interests them, rather than the ones that interest you, or that you think are educational. You want to challenge your kids from time to time, but not too much.”

He suggests bearing in mind the very different environment children are growing up in compared to those in which their parents learnt to read.

“As a result of that, I think it’s important to look for new, exciting books. I definitely want to share with my kids the books that I loved when I was their age, but they just don’t connect, it doesn’t seem to work quite the same way,” he said.

Find a wealth of great reading materials for kids at Libraries ACT.

Reluctant readers aged 7–12 may also benefit from the Story Dogs program.

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Work to duplicate part of Athllon Drive in Tuggeranong is set to start in the coming months.

The ACT Government will invest in the project through the 2024–25 ACT Budget, as part of a 50:50 funding agreement with the Australian Government.

The project will see the duplication of 2.4 kilometres of Athllon Drive between Sulwood Drive and Drakeford Drive in Tuggeranong.

The work to begin in the coming months will include:

• relocating overhead electricity cables
• water and sewer works
• new walking and cycling path connections
• path widening
• new lighting.

The first work on the northern section of the duplication will also commence in the coming year.

This will include the construction of a widened intersection at Shea Street in Phillip to support access to the future Woden Bus Depot.

About Athllon Drive

Athllon Drive extends south from Woden, through Mawson and Wanniassa to Tuggeranong.

Two rapid bus routes, cyclists and nearly 2,000 vehicles currently use this road every hour during peak periods.

The duplication project will improve safety for motorists, walkers and cyclists, and result in a smoother, safer and faster journey between Tuggeranong and Woden.

Budget invests in roads across Canberra

This year’s Budget will maintain and upgrade the ACT’s road network over the coming years.

This will include investment to start planning on new and upgraded roads, through a 50:50 partnership with the Australian Government, following commitments in the recent Federal Budget.

Included in this is the future Molonglo Parkway-Drive Connector. The road will provide access between the future Molonglo Town Centre and the Tuggeranong Parkway.

Design will also commence on future road improvements in Gungahlin. This includes possible road widening and intersection upgrades, following the finalisation of the Gungahlin Transport Plan later this year.

The Budget commits additional funding to complete the Beltana Road upgrade in Pialligo and the Gundaroo Drive duplication in Belconnen in the coming financial year.

In addition to these new road projects, this Budget continues to invest in road maintenance. This includes:

• creating four new full-time positions in the City Services in-house line-marking crew, to renew faded road and path line-marking
• carrying out critical bridge upgrades and improvements to traffic signals
• renewal of Canberra’s green road signs, the Diddams Close boat ramp in Belconnen and the Parkes Way tunnel through Acton.

Road pavement maintenance and rehabilitation will also remain a focus, thanks to investment from the Australian Government through the Roads to Recovery program.

Funding to improve active travel

Budget funding will be used to establish a new path replacement crew.

This includes an additional 10 full-time positions plus new equipment to replace old or hazardous sections of concrete paths.

This insourced crew will be able to respond to cracked, broken and lifted paths more quickly.

They will also be able to make small-scale age-friendly improvements, such as building new ramps, kerbs and missing sections of paths.

Over the next year, budget funding will be used to construct missing path links and connections across the city.

This is in response to community feedback on gaps in the path network.

New lighting will be installed to improve visibility and safety, prioritising areas identified by women and vulnerable users as requiring improvement.

Funds will be invested in major works to renew the Emu Bank foreshore as part of the next stage of the Lake Ginninderra path upgrade.

These works will include:

• completely reconstructing the ageing lake retaining wall
• replacing the pavers which present ongoing trip hazards
• widening the path along the foreshore to create a safer, more pleasant environment.

New funding will also be provided to undertake planning and design on segments of the future walking and cycling network identified in the Active Travel Plan, released earlier this year.

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The ACT Government is taking further steps to prevent and respond to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Funding in the 2024-25 ACT Budget will address domestic, family and sexual violence, including coercive control.

Throughout the ACT and Australia, incidents of domestic violence continue to increase. Frontline services must be well-equipped to respond.

This Budget includes a coercive control package, to increase understanding and improve responses to this type of domestic violence.

The package will provide training to frontline agencies, such as ACT Policing and the Courts, on identifying and responding to coercive control.

It will also provide for a public education campaign informed by specialist coercive control expertise.

Alongside this investment, a significant funding boost will be provided to frontline response services. These services do vital work to keep women and families safe.

The Domestic Violence Crisis Service, Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, YWCA, Beryl Women Inc, and Women’s Health Matters will all receive funding boosts.

As first points of support for many people experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence, crisis services, refuges and specialist services for men are all vital to address the immediate impact of domestic and family violence and keeping people safe.

This Budget also prioritises behaviour change for perpetrators. Funding for EveryMan will expand their violence prevention programs.

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Sections of Tuggeranong Creek in Calwell have been re-naturalised with native plants and grasses replacing concrete. The project will help improve habitat and the quality of water flowing into Lake Tuggeranong.

Concrete sections of the creek have been replaced with naturalised creek beds featuring pools and riffles. Thousands of water plants have been planted at the site.

The new water plants will:

• trap sediments
• absorb nutrients and pollution
• reduce the risk of blue-green algal blooms.

The plants will also provide important habitat for native wildlife such as water bugs, yabbies and water birds. The plants will grow over the next few years to create a beautiful landscape.

The creek channel has been widened to slow the water down. This will allow it to filter into the soil and support the surrounding landscape while still protecting the surrounding suburbs from flooding.

Two viewing platforms will provide a space for the community to enjoy the area.

This project is one of several that are trialling improvements in stormwater quality and waterway healthy. These include:

• new wetland designs including floating wetlands
• reconnecting street drains and pipes to green space
• stormwater recycling to irrigate sports fields
• raingardens that treat runoff before it enters big drains.

The Healthy Waterways program is helping to deliver on the goals of the ACT Water Strategy 2014-44. The government is currently seeking feedback from the community on changes to the strategy which aim to find new and adaptable ways to care for our waterways in the ACT.

More information about the Healthy Waterways Program is available on the ACT Environment website.

Have your say on the changes to the ACT Water Strategy 2014-44 on the YourSay website.

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The ACT Government is investing $455,000 towards the implementation of the Canberra Region Local Food Strategy.

Part of the 2024–25 ACT Budget, this funding will help grow Canberra’s local food production sector.

The ACT is the first Australian state or territory to launch a plan to support and grow its local food system.

Funding for the first year of the Strategy’s implementation will deliver a Local Food Chain Infrastructure Study.

The study will explore opportunities to support small-medium sized local food producers in Canberra and the surrounding region who struggle to compete with larger commercial providers.

The study will focus on areas of food packaging, distribution, storage and networking. It will build on data from the Agriculture and Food in the ACT Study, currently underway.

It will also aim to reduce barriers for getting local food produce into local marketplaces and grocery stores.

Shaped by community feedback, the strategy will ultimately strengthen Canberrans’ access to healthy, affordable food.

Funding has also been provided to examine opportunities for using suitable ACT Government land to support local food production, and to help educate the community on how to grow food in the ACT.

The Canberra Region Local Food Strategy is available on the ACT Environment website.

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