The ACT Government has agreed to create a new financial support scheme for low-income households as part of budget negotiations with the ACT Greens.

The commitment comes two months after the government controversially ended the Rent Relief Fund, which provided short-term crisis payments to renters to avoid eviction. Care Financial Counselling (which administered the fund) had called for its restoration, arguing that it helped prevent homelessness.

“Feedback from the community services sector is that there is a cohort of households that can, very quickly, come under significant financial stress,” a government spokesperson said. “Having an emergency support payment can potentially avoid households falling into a sustained period of poverty.”

The government said it was seeking advice from directorates, and would announce further details later. Ministers met community services at a roundtable last month.

ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury MLA said the deal showed the pressure of public campaigning had forced Labor to change its policy.

“Earlier this year, Labor tried to justify axing the rent relief fund by claiming it was just legacy COVID-19 support,” Mr Rattenbury said. “But community pressure has made clear that people are still doing it tough and need support—and now the government has admitted as much.

“Call it a rent relief fund or something else— we welcome the recognition by the Labor Party that there is a real need in the community for support in a crisis.”

Care welcomed the announcement, but said it was “hard not to be disappointed” that the program was closed before a replacement was developed. Acting CEO Aoife Berenger said the scheme had provided three grants a day to struggling renters, but cost only $1.7 million. She welcomed recent engagement with the government, but warned that the closure of the fund, “a carefully-targeted and cost-effective cost of living relief measure”, had left the community sector and vulnerable Canberrans without “a vital lifeline … in one of, if not the least affordable private rental markets in Australia”. She called for an interim measure until the new scheme was implemented.

Other community organisations welcomed the announcement.

ACTCOSS CEO Dr Devin Bowles said the community sector had used the Rent Relief Fund to help people avoid homelessness and rebuild their lives, and also saved government expenditure on homelessness and health care. “Funding for programs like the Rent Relief Fund are a good investment for governments, which is why many states have them.”

Lucy Hohnen, CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn, said Vinnies teams supported people facing rental stress every day. “The Rent Relief Fund has often been the circuit breaker that keeps people safely housed while we work with them on longer-term solutions. Its closure left a significant gap in crisis support.” She said the next scheme must meet the scale and urgency of current need to prevent homelessness and housing insecurity.

Liberals push for tougher laws on illicit tobacco and vaping

ACT Opposition Leader Leanne Castley MLA called on the ACT and Federal governments to address the sale and distribution of illicit tobacco and vapes, warning they fuel organised crime and threaten community safety.

Ms Castley said illicit tobacco sales were rising across Canberra: some suburban supermarkets reported legal sales had declined by 80 per cent in the last five years. Nationally, 40 per cent of sales are illicit, resulting in excise dropping by $7 billion.

Organised crime makes $10 billion every year from illegal tobacco products and violent robberies in Victoria increased by 150 per cent since February 2024 due to tobacco-related crime, the ABC reported.

Ms Castley urged the ACT Government to adopt other states’ legislation, including temporarily closing stores selling illicit tobacco, issuing fines, licensing schemes, and establishing a tobacco regulator.

“My motion calls on the ACT government to take stronger legislative measures to protect the community and tackle this scourge,” Ms Castley said.

The ACT Government will toughen the laws on illegal tobacco and vaping, giving authorities more power to enforce the rules and increasing penalties for sellers. It will also urge the Albanese Government to fund states and territories to help them crack down on the illicit tobacco trade, following a national funding commitment made in March.

Canberrans call for virtual fencing to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions

More than 1,300 people have signed a community petition calling on the ACT Government to trial virtual fencing along Erindale Drive to reduce vehicle collisions with kangaroos and wombats. The petition was presented in the ACT Legislative Assembly this week.

Lead petitioner Aisha Bottrill said she recently waited with an injured female kangaroo that lost her joey when it was flung from her pouch and hit by a car on Erindale Drive.

“Since then, there have been many more dead kangaroos on this road. This is why we so urgently need a virtual fencing trial here in Canberra.

“Wildlife carers, who are the ones on the ground caring for animals who are hit by vehicles, are seeing a decrease in callouts in places where there is virtual fencing.

“That’s why wildlife carers have been calling for virtual fencing to be rolled out in more areas. They know it works and can see firsthand the impact it has on reducing collisions.”

Virtual fencing alerts animals to oncoming traffic. Roadside posts emit high-frequency sounds and flashing lights when they detect approaching headlights, warning animals away from traffic.

Virtual fencing reduced kangaroo fatalities by 90 per cent in Eurobodalla and wildlife road collisions by 81 per cent on Victoria’s Surf Coast.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, 4,464 rangers were called out to wildlife collisions; there were 621 in June alone. ACT Greens Deputy Leader Jo Clay MLA, who tabled the community petition in the Legislative Assembly this morning, says the actual collisions are higher, as this data relies on calls made directly to the ACT Government.

“Accidentally hitting wildlife with a car is incredibly distressing — for the animal, the driver, people who witness it and those who later see the animal on the side of the road,” Ms Clay said.

“It is not easy for anyone to see an animal in pain and, in most cases, die. In some instances, people in the vehicle are also injured when they accidentally collide with wildlife.

“We need measures that make streets safer for everyone — including the wildlife that lives alongside us.”

CIT ex-CEO’s appeal dismissed

The ACT Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by former Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) chief executive Leanne Cover, upholding findings of serious corrupt conduct made against her by the ACT Integrity Commission.

Justice Mossop ruled the Commission had correctly applied the Integrity Commission Act 2018 in its Operation Luna investigation and confirmed that the Commission’s Special Report was admissible in proceedings, not protected by parliamentary privilege.

The first Operation Luna report, tabled in June 2024, examined Ms Cover’s conduct and that of the former CIT Board Chair over consultancy contracts linked to entities owned or controlled by Patrick Hollingworth. A second report, released this July, also found serious corrupt conduct by Ms Cover and another CIT employee.

Labor MLA calls for clearer planning rules for Canberra events

Labor MLA Taimus Werner-Gibbings will call on the ACT Government to improve planning guidance for event organisers.

The guidance would identify suitable sites for private and community events (weddings, festivals, and markets), and provide practical information on access, services, and approval requirements.

Mr Werner-Gibbings said the guidance would unlock the potential of Canberra’s public spaces and support the ACT Government’s Tourism Strategy, which aims to grow the visitor economy to $5 billion by 2030.

Mr Werner-Gibbings was founder and executive producer of Shakespeare by the Lakes.

“We spent a long time figuring out which parks we could perform in, whether there was power or water at the sites, what approvals we needed, and who to contact,” he said. “The guidance will give organisers the clarity they need to deliver great events in Canberra.”

Protecting the Western Edge

ACT Independent Senator David Pocock has brought First Nations custodians, community groups and environmental experts together at Parliament House to protect the Western Edge of Canberra.

The roundtable will explore how to embed First Nations land management, conservation, and ecologically sustainable land use to protect and restore biodiversity while generating income through agriculture and ecotourism.

“The Western Edge is one of the ACT’s most ecologically and culturally significant landscapes,” Senator Pocock said. “Protecting it is about reimagining how we treat land and creating sustainable opportunities for generations to come.”

To learn more, watch a video about the proposal: www.davidpocock.com.au/the_western_edge

Municipal services

The ACT Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee on Transport and City Services has launched an inquiry into the provision of municipal services in the ACT.

The inquiry will examine the upkeep of public spaces, waste and graffiti removal, and the geographic spread of parks, playgrounds and active travel infrastructure.

Committee chair Leanne Castley MLA said the inquiry builds on issues raised during the Fix My Street inquiry, which is focused on the government’s reporting software.

“Canberra is unique among Australian cities, with one level of government being responsible for the services provided by both state governments and local councils,” Ms Castley said. “This inquiry offers an opportunity for Canberra residents, local business, and other stakeholders to provide feedback on the condition of public spaces, and efforts to keep our city running and well-maintained.”

Submissions are open until 12 December. Details are on the inquiry’s webpage.