The ACT Greens have promised to build a food hub in Fyshwick, so more food can be grown locally, rather than bought from supermarkets.
The $3.5 million hub would give local farmers a base of operations to produce and distribute food, Greens deputy leader Rebecca Vassarotti said, โso that Canberrans can buy it straight from their local shops and markets, not from the supermarket giantsโ.
โThis food hub will empower Canberrans to boycott imports from the big supermarkets and buy more local food, giving them confidence in where their food has come from, who has grown it and why their food costs what it does.
โGrowing the food that ends up on our dinner tables locally rather than importing it from across the country is good for farmers, good for the environment, and good for giving Canberrans greater choice to buy and support local businesses.
โThe corporatisation of food production in Australia has created a food system that is vulnerable to climate change, unfair to farmers, and which sells food to Canberrans at exorbitant prices while big supermarkets rake in record profits.โ
Under their local food policy, the Greens would also
- Invest $3.5 million to establish a food hub which will
- Protect prime agricultural land so farmers have fair, long-term leases
- Provide $1 million in interest free loans to help local farmers get their food out to local shops, to sell more easily to Canberrans
โFor example, farmers might like to get together and purchase an electric van for food deliveries to local shops and restaurants, or as part of a box scheme direct to the front doors of Canberrans,โ Ms Vassarotti said.
The Greens would also:
- Revitalise and refurbish the Canberra City Farm in Fyshwick
- Establish a farm training centre which will run training and jobs programs for people at risk
- Provide $2 million over four years to fund five full-time equivalent primary school garden coordinators, to support school kitchen gardens
- Invest $600,000 over four years to create new large community gardens for the suburbs, using the Community Garden Grants program for smaller projects
โThese sorts of programs are the foundation to helping local farms and local farmers thrive,โ Ms Vassarotti said. โOur suite of initiatives will be good for farmers, good for the environment, and good for the bank accounts of Canberrans.โ
Footpaths
Last week, the Greens committed toย improve Canberraโs footpaths, so all Canberrans can get around their neighbourhoods safely and easily.
โThe Greens want Canberra to be a city thatโs easy to get around,โ Jo Clay MLA said. โWhether youโre walking, riding, pushing a pram or in a wheelchair, you should be able to get to your local shops or bus stop safely and conveniently.ย
โBut, right now, our paths just arenโt kept in a good enough condition, and many are missing connections. When Iโm out doorknocking, one of the most common things Iโm hearing is that our city needs better paths. Weโre in a climate emergency. With over 60 per cent of our emissions coming from transport, we need to do better.
โThere is not enough investment in building new paths and not enough dedicated to maintaining the ones we have.โ
The Greens would dedicate $20 million every year for new paths and connections, and increase investment in path maintenance to $15 million every year, up from the current $5 to $6.5 million. A rolling maintenance and audit program would sets a timeframe of six months for repairs, rather than the current 18+ month wait time, Ms Clay said.
An ACT Government path maintenance team would fully insource all maintenance, rather than relying on private contractor capacity for basic repairs.
So more families could walk or ride to school safely, the Greens would create more raised crossings and employ more crossing supervisors at schools.
The full list of policies is available on the ACT Greens website.
