The ACT Legislative Assembly’s latest sitting week (4 to 6 March) saw debates over knife crime legislation, support for businesses affected by light rail construction, aged care services, and infrastructure delays.

Fossil fuel and gambling industries sponsorship in schools

Fossil fuel and gambling industry sponsorship will be banned in ACT classrooms beginning next year.

The bill’s proponent, ACT Greens MLA Laura Nuttall, called the result “a massive win for so many activists who have been pushing for this for years”.

The government will help schools receiving funding from fossil fuel or gambling companies to transition to other funding sources. Such companies cause harm, Ms Nuttall argued: burning fossil fuels hurts children’s health and their environment, while gambling irrevocably damages society.

The Conservation Council ACT Region and Comms Declare welcomed the passage of the motion.

Prevention of knife-related violence

The Canberra Liberals called for police to be able to use metal detection wands to scan people for knives, without suspicion — similar to ‘Jack’s Law’ legislation introduced in Queensland and NSW after stabbing murders in those states.

Last week’s incident, when shoppers in the Canberra Outlet Centre were threatened with a machete, demonstrated why expanded powers were needed, Shadow Attorney-General Peter Cain MLA said. He compared the legislation to random roadside breath tests that ensured community safety.

The Legislative Assembly resolved to revisit the issue and consider whether ACT Policing should be given more powers to respond to knife-related violence. They would also implement wraparound programs to address the causes of knife crime (mental illness, poverty, drugs).

Mr Cain said he was “disappointed” the government softened his motion to consult with stakeholders rather than introducing Jack’s Law reforms.

This is the second time this bill has been defeated: last year, the government believed evidence for Jack’s Law reforms was insufficient and it could conflict with human rights provisions.

Police seized 48 knives between December 2024 and January 2025 — some from 13-year-olds, Mr Cain noted. Other recent instances of knife-related violence include stabbing attacks on the ANU campus in 2023 and a stabbing murder in a Civic nightclub in July 2020.

The Australian Federal Police Association backed the Liberals’ motion. President Alex Caruana argued that metal detection wands would deter potentially fatal knife-related crimes, and were quicker, safer, more efficient and complied more with human rights than physical pat-downs.

“Jack’s Law would provide ACT Policing with the tools to prevent tragedies, not just respond to them,” Mr Caruana said.

Mr Cain said he would continue to advocate for the legislation.

Support for Civic businesses affected by light rail

Light rail construction works have led to a 40 per cent drop in trade for businesses in London Circuit, nose pollution, dust, limited access for foot traffic and to roads, and less parking spots — the same problems that “plagued” Gungahlin and Mitchell businesses during construction of Stage 1, and which could persist for three years, the Canberra Liberals allege.

Shadow business minister James Milligan MLA called for the government to consider adjusting rates, fees and charges for affected businesses; to advertise that “London Circuit is open for business”; and to apply lessons learnt when building Stage 1. His motion was successful.

Transport minister Chris Steel MLA said light rail would benefit city businesses by bringing hundreds of construction workers in the short term and increasing commuter foot traffic in the long term.

Mr Steel acknowledged that construction works would cause disruption. Infrastructure Canberra is working with businesses to minimise impacts, and has implemented a Business Partnership Plan.

The minister encouraged local businesses to provide take-away menus and business cards for construction site and project offices, and urged staff to support local businesses affected by construction.

ACT Government policy is not to financially compensate affected businesses nor provide payment relief for rates, taxes, rents or other charges, Mr Steel said.

The Canberra Business Chamber was “thrilled” with the motion, and pleased that it passed unanimously, CEO Greg Harford said. The Chamber too has asked the government to provide rates relief for affected businesses.

“Many businesses operate on very narrow net margins, and only a small drop in customer numbers can have massive impacts on the viability of businesses,” Mr Harford said.

“Many affected businesses are facing real challenges as a result of the disruption, and the Chamber repeats its call for the Government to provide rates relief for businesses impacted by the infrastructure build — and that if rates relief is provided to landlords, to make sure that any relief is passed through to tenants.”

Aged care respite centre not fit for purpose

The Burrangiri Aged Care Respite Centre is due to close in June, but the Canberra Liberals and independent MLA Fiona Carrick called for the government to keep the centre open until other respite care could be provided.

The Salvation Army operates Burrangiri with ACT Health funding. It provides a day-care program and short-term care for older people, including those with dementia, for up to three weeks, without needing an ACAT assessment.

Ms Carrick and Canberra Liberals leader and shadow health minister Leanne Castley MLA are concerned that Burrangiri’s closure would leave Canberra short of aged care respite.

Health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, however, said that Burrangiri is not fit-for-purpose: the facility needs to be refurbished and upgraded, which would require its (temporary) closure anyway. Structural and electrical upgrades would cost more than $9,000, and extending the useful life of the facility would cost between $6.5 and $12 million.

Because Burrangiri is not an approved provider of aged care services, it does not receive Commonwealth funding.

Burrangiri lacks infrastructure, equipment and workers to look after patients with complex needs, Ms Stephen-Smith said. Relocation was not an option, as neither the government nor the Salvos could identify another suitable facility.

In the absence of a dedicated facility, an alternative service would simply replicate a Canberra Health Services hospital stepdown program for elderly patients, Ms Stephen-Smith said. All 29 residential aged care homes in the ACT provide residential respite care.

Ms Carrick has sponsored a petition to keep Burrangiri open.

Molonglo River Bridge delay

Molonglo River Bridge — expected to be the longest weathering steel bridge in Australia, a 225-metre span connecting the Molonglo Valley to Belconnen and Civic — will not be complete until August/September 2026, two years later than originally projected, city and government services minister Tara Cheyne MLA revealed.

The 2019 Infrastructure Plan stated that the bridge would be completed in 2024; in 2021, then-city services minister Chris Steel said the bridge would open in 2025.

Ms Cheyne now expected the bridge to be constructed in the third quarter of 2026; landscaping and planning would continue through the first quarter of 2027.

The minister explained that the scope and required approvals had changed beyond what was originally agreed and understood since the design and construct contract was first awarded; this had changed design criteria, requiring additional changes.

The timeline had been adjusted “to ensure a robust and enduring result”.

Ms Cheyne emphasised that it was not unusual for projects of this scale and complexity to require refinement.

Shadow government services minister Ed Cocks MLA, who introduced a motion to address traffic congestion in the Molonglo Valley, complained that the government’s delivery of infrastructure in Molonglo was too slow.

Dickson Shops

In response to community concerns that Dickson shops are unsafe, poorly maintained, and inaccessible, the ACT Government is setting up a working group and designing a plan to revitalise the precinct.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury MLA noted that homelessness had increased in Dickson, that businesses were struggling due to high cost of living, and that high commercial rents left shops empty. He called on the government to address increasing social and economic inequality.

Other news

The ACT is one of two jurisdictions that reduced the rate of overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in out-of-home care, according to the SNAICC Report: the number fell from 14 children per 1,000 in 2022 to 11.7 in 2023. Michael Pettersson MLA, minister for children, youth and families, attributed this to government reforms.

ACT Corrective Services has a strategy to prevent, track and respond to sexual coercion and violence at the ACT prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre, corrections minister Dr Marisa Paterson MLA announced.

The federal government has renewed its five-year partnership with the ACT government to end gender-based violence, investing $6.1 million in the National Partnership Agreement on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses from 1 July (total $14.6 million since 2022).

It will also invest $12.9 million for rooftop solar and batteries in up to 7,500 social housing properties, promising lower energy bills and cost-of-living relief.

The ACT and federal governments have updated their school funding and reform agreement, increasing Commonwealth funding for ACT public schools by $72 million over the agreement’s duration. The federal contribution rises to 25 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard by 2034, provided the ACT maintains at least 81.5 per cent of the SRS from 2030 to 2034. The funding is tied to targeted support and student wellbeing initiatives, including Year 1 phonics and numeracy checks to identify struggling students early.

The federal government will spend $26.1 million to make local highways safer: $17.5 million to improve an 8-kilometre stretch of the Monaro Highway, expected to be completed later this year; and $8.6 million to improve the King’s Highway at Kowen, to be finished mid-year.