Sixteen days to the election. ACT Labor takes to the skies with cheap flights to Adelaide, while the Canberra Liberals propose a down-to-earth plan for Murrumbidgee.

ACT Labor: Cheap flights to Adelaide

ACT Labor, it seems, has interstate travel on the brain. Yesterday, it was trains to Sydney; today, planes to Adelaide. Perhaps they’re planning a getaway if the election doesn’t go their way.

As part of its $50 million 2030 Tourism Growth Fund, Labor and the South Australian Government would establish direct, low-cost flights between Canberra and Adelaide.

Labor intends to grow the visitor economy to $5 billion by 2030.

“Making it cheaper and easier to get to Canberra will be essential to hit this target,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said. “Growing our visitor economy means more money is being spent in local businesses, particularly hospitality and retail, and creating local jobs.”

This term, Canberra has been connected by air to 14 destinations, due to the aviation stimulus fund, Mr Barr noted.

SA premier Peter Malinauskas (Labor) endorsed the scheme. He would.

Canberra Liberals: Murrumbidgee

Labor published a slew of regional plans in August; now it’s the opposition’s turn.

The Canberra Liberals have released their plan for the electorate of Murrumbidgee, which covers the inner south, Woden, Weston Creek and Molonglo Valley. Yesterday, it was Gungahlin. (How many more of these, one wonders? Bring on the election already!)

The Liberals would build a sporting arena in the Woden area, including an Olympic-size swimming pool, sports facility, community meeting and event spaces, and recreational attractions such as water slides, a splash park, and a hydrotherapy pool.

The party has also promised to build a police station in Molonglo Valley to address rising community concerns about crime. (So have Labor.)

To reduce traffic congestion, the Liberals pledge to improve intersections and choke points; construct the Molonglo East-West arterial road; and duplicate Athllon Drive to make commuting between Woden and Tuggeranong faster. (Labor has road plans, too.)

Ed Cocks MLA says that many local shops have been neglected. “The population of Woden has been increasing and yet there has been a significant erosion of community facilities and local infrastructure.”

The Liberals would spend $3 million to upgrade the Mawson group centre and build the Molonglo Town Centre. Other infrastructure projects include a multi-storey Canberra Hospital car park, improving sportsgrounds and facilities, and maintaining footpaths. Labor has similar plans.

“Despite making a number of promises over the last 23 years, the Labor-Greens government has continually failed to deliver, and, as a result, the people of Murrumbidgee do not have the facilities and basic local maintenance they deserve,” Jeremy Hanson MLA said.

“For too long, the people of Woden, Weston Creek and now Molonglo have been treated at second class citizens by this government, and the Canberra Liberals are committed to properly investing in our suburbs, whether it be shopping centres, footpaths or sporting facilities.”

Independent candidate Fiona Carrick, former president of the Woden Valley Community Council, welcomed the announcement by the Canberra Liberals.

“The Murrumbidgee electorate is in desperate need of social infrastructure; the sports arena in Woden, the Molonglo Town Centre and the arterial roads are a priority,” Ms Carrick said. “We also need to plan for more and improved health services, schools, shops and police in our growing suburbs. 

“The announcement by the Greens for an indoor sports stadium and the Liberals sports arena shows the impact advocacy by a local, committed independent and the local community can have. We are now waiting for the Labor party to commit to delivering social infrastructure to all Canberrans. 

“I will hold the next government to account for the timely delivery of the social and economic infrastructure the Murrumbidgee electorate needs to build our communities and support our quality of life.”

The ACT Greens have promised to build a multipurpose sports centre in Woden, sport facilities in Molonglo Valley, and a new 50-metre public swimming pool facility in Woden.

“It is great to see support for a longstanding ACT Greens policy,” Emma Davidson MLA said.

Independents for Canberra candidate Anne-Louise Dawes, however, criticised the Liberals’ Murrumbidgee plan as “focused on short-term fixes that simply oppose whatever the red and green parties are pitching”.

She argued that building more roads, like duplicating Athllon Drive, would not solve traffic problems, and that urban planning should move away from car dependency.

She suggested that light rail (despite concerns about costs and delays) could bring substantial benefits; in Kurrajong, students had more access to universities and city life, house prices have increased, and small businesses have thrived.