Canberra’s organisations, from community services to education, from business to construction, are disappointed by the Budget that Chief Minister Andrew Barr handed down yesterday.

The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) says the budget lacks decisive action to meet the cost-of-living crisis. The ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Association says it does the bare minimum for public education. The Canberra Business Chamber says it missed the mark for business; many are struggling as the economy slows. The Master Builders Association ACT is ‘shocked’ by an 87 per cent reduction in capital works, and fears that the construction industry might not be viable.

ACTCOSS

Dr Devin Bowles, CEO of ACTCOSS, believes that the Budget needed to invest more in cost-of-living, housing and homelessness, self-determination for First Nations people, and support for the community sector.

In his view, the Budget, despite some welcome cost-of-living relief measures, does “not sufficiently emphasise or help people being pushed to the economic margin”.

“The scale of investment needs to be increased given the extreme challenges faced by those experiencing poverty during the cost-of-living crisis,” Dr Bowles said.

The Budget targeted some of cost-of-living measures to those in need, such as rent relief, emergency financial aid, food relief, and energy assistance. However, unaffordable rental costs – “the biggest cost-of-living pressure for low-income households” – will eclipse this “modest” relief, Dr Bowles said.

Funding for housing and homeless assistance does not match the scale of the ACT’s housing affordability crisis, Dr Bowles said. Social housing as a proportion of overall housing stock is declining, while the public housing waiting list has grown by 34 per cent.

$4.2 million over the next three years to support Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations was welcome, Dr Bowles said: “an essential step to enable reconciliation and close the gap”. Patrice Soward, head of an ACTCOSS program supporting community services to be culturally appropriate, remarked that a disability and housing ACCO is a priority. However, ACTCOSS states, more investments that align with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap are necessary.

The community sector is serving an ACT population 30 per cent larger than it was 15 years ago, and demand has increased dramatically, including from people who never needed assistance before; but funding has not increased to cover that difference or to meet the demand, Dr Bowles said.

“Investment in the community sector falls well short of what is required, and the people of Canberra will be the ones who ultimately suffer for it,” Dr Bowles said.

A 3.6 per cent funding increase to contracts to cover increasing expenses from explanation did not cover increased superannuation expenses, and community organisations, Dr Bowles said, “are again being forced to cover expenses that outpace their funding”.

ACTCOSS asked the government to partner with the community sector to ensure funding met the community and the community sector’s needs.

ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations

Veronica Elliott, executive officer of the peak body for public school parents, said public education disappointingly received the bare minimum in the Budget: funding to repair leaky school rooves, to teach children to read and write, and to ensure some students were fed. These are issues that should already be in hand, Ms Elliott said.

“It’s not unreasonable for parents to expect their student will learn to read and write, but how fantastic would it be if all our public schools had inspiring learning spaces, rather than meeting basic requirements.

“The need for endless repairs to poorly maintained infrastructure at some schools is an ongoing issue for school communities.”

The Council welcomed some measures, such as the $24.9 million for the Strong Foundations literacy and numeracy program (although implementing the panel’s recommendations will require more funding); planning for new schools in town centres and expansion of existing schools in high demand areas; the expansion of the Equity Fund, which helps low-income families buy school essentials; and the $3.9 million for the Meals in Schools pilot program at five schools three days a week.

Ms Elliott called on the government to make sure that all public schools were resourced to support all students, and urged election candidates to commit to increase funding for public education.

“Parents want to be confident that their students access an equitable, quality, and consistent education at every school – and not a postcode lottery…

“Now is the time to ensure our public education system can lead into the future. Our schools need resourcing to ensure all students reach their potential.”

Canberra Business Chamber

The ACT’s Annual Budget was very a much a business-as-usual affair, and may have missed the mark for business, according to the Canberra Business Chamber.

“While it is important to focus on health and wellbeing investment, today’s Budget doesn’t put enough focus on helping build a thriving business community,” chief executive Greg Harford said.

“Canberra’s private sector employs more than two-thirds of all working Canberrans, and times are difficult. Economic growth has slowed, and many firms are hurting. Two-thirds of businesses report that they didn’t hit their business targets in the last quarter; and nearly half are feeling negative or very negative about the future. This is exactly the time when we need Government to be getting in behind business and working hard to improve the business environment.

“While the Chamber wasn’t looking for large spending initiatives, we would have liked to see a program announced for removing barriers to doing business here in the ACT. Instead, the Government is bringing forward its plans to bring in a payroll tax surcharge for large firms operating here in the ACT. This sends a message not only that business may not be welcome here in the Territory, but also means that Canberrans are likely to pay even more for some goods and services over time.”

Master Builders ACT

Last year’s budget committed $1 billion of new capital works over five years, but this week’s budget shows an 87 per cent reduction in capital works, putting construction businesses’ future at risk, Master Builders ACT states.

The $6.4 billion capital works program over the next five years to 2028–29 consists mainly of works already in progress, which MBA ACT CEO Michael Hopkins said “reflects Government’s delay in getting tenders released, awarded, and getting project approvals in place”. Last year’s $1 billion has been “significantly downgraded” to a “meagre” $36.1 million of new capital works in 2024–25, and $57 million over the next five years, to be shared among 6,500 local building businesses.

“Many ACT building and construction businesses will be re-assessing the viability of their businesses after reading that the ACT Government is only budgeting for $57 million of new capital works over the next five years,” Mr Hopkins said.

“The local building and construction industry currently employs around 20,000 people in 6,500 businesses who help build the homes and infrastructure needed to support Canberra’s growth.

“The Government has failed to listen to our key message about the importance of providing a smooth and reliable pipeline of future work to sustain the construction workforce and keep local businesses viable.”

Nor, the MBA said, had the government heeded their calls to increase training subsidies for construction trades.

“For a long time, the ACT Government has subsidised the training for carpenters and plumbers at the lowest level of any State or Territory Government in Australia. Today’s budget does nothing to lift the ACT off the bottom of the funding ladder.”

The government yesterday announced a $250 one-off payment for apprentices and trainees; the government said they “have a restricted earning capacity while they are obtaining their qualification, and this payment recognises the financial pressures these Canberrans are facing”. But the MBA argues the payment is inadequate.

“While apprentices and trainees will welcome a one-off $250 cost-of-living grant, for tradies this amounts to about two tanks of fuel in their work ute, and hardly addresses the chronic lack of funding for apprentices in this sector,” Mr Hopkins said.

An increase in Lease Variation Charge, payroll tax and rates will add to the costs of running a business and delivering more housing, Mr Hopkins predicted.

Pedal Power ACT

Cycling advocacy group Pedal Power ACT said it was difficult to identify which of the wide range of active travel projects would be “shovel ready” for the coming year. 

The implementation of specific projects and timelines was unclear in this budget, president David Whitney said.

“The Active Travel Plan and Design Guides were released earlier this year, yet we are still to see a detailed plan of how it will be rolled out. While we absolutely welcome this funding, we would still like to see it positioned as part of an active travel plan that includes targets and clear timelines.”

Moreover, the allocation for 2024/25 appeared disappointingly to be less than the $26 million committed last year, Mr Whitney said. 

“If the government is serious about achieving a transport mode shift to get to its goal of 50 to 60 per cent less emission by 2025, active travel needs to remain a priority in every budget,” Mr Whitney said. “While some improvements have been made, we are still a very long way from enjoying the type of infrastructure we need to significantly increase active travel in the ACT.” 

The strong points of the budget, Pedal Power thinks, are projects that make roads safer, improve local intersections, and funding for road surfacing and increased road safety signage. “Asset renewal is vital given Canberra’s enviable yet ageing bicycle and shared pathway network, and the investment in a new small team to undertake this work is welcome.” 

Other welcome proposals are connectivity between cycle paths and road corridors; more vehicle speeding detection; encouraging Age Friendly suburbs; promoting local travel within three kilometres from home; and restrictions to suburban speed limits. 

The crucial question now is when these projects will be implemented, Mr Whitney said. 

“Other major works funded in this budget such as upgrades for Monaro Highway, Parkes Way, Athlon Drive and William Hovell Drive, the Canberra Theatre, Manuka Oval and the Convention Centre Precinct present fantastic opportunities to create cycle infrastructure to encourage active travel, but it is not clear from the budget if this aspect has been considered. 

“We will continue to call for the government to prioritise active travel infrastructure so Canberrans can reap the environmental, financial and health benefits of increased active travel many other cities are already enjoying around the world.”