ACT Greens call for ban on corflutes

The ACT Greens have called on all parties to avoid using roadside election corflutes, arguing that they are unsightly and wasteful.

“The ACT Greens believe a healthy democracy shouldn’t be measured by how many roadside corflutes you can plaster along a single street,” Andrew Braddock MLA said. “It should be about integrity and vision for Canberra.

“Unfortunately, to the dismay of Canberrans, parties once again invaded their neighbourhoods with a flurry of ugly and wasteful election roadside signs for their quadrennial showdown.

“Once again, the ACT Greens have committed to not placing roadside corflutes on public land so we can preserve the amenity and beauty of our bush capital. 

“I mean, seriously, any politician who listens to Canberrans would know that our community hates these roadside signs polluting our streets, so I don’t know who they think they’re winning over by littering them left, right and centre.

“Unlike the old parties, the ACT Greens focus on genuine community engagement. We only display signs at private, supportive households. This way, any signage on our streets is not overdone, and truly reflects the preferences of local residents.

“The reality is, roadside corflutes indicate nothing about the level of public support for a candidate, just how much money a party has. It’s about damn time we stop using these eyesores and opt to listen to the voices of the community.”

The Greens’ private yard signs end up being recycled – as house insulation, building chook sheds, as habitat for local wombats, or painted over for protest signs, Mr Braddock said.

However, the Greens did not take kindly to Tom McLuckie suggesting using their signs for darts practice.

Corflutes were a major point of contention during the 2020 election. Many complained online about placement, visual pollution, and waste, and the Belco Party even appealed to the public to stop damaging their signs. In the six weeks before the election, City Services rangers removed more than 2,100 corflute signs, mainly because fallen signs became litter. After the election, 10,000 corflutes, weighing 974 kg, were recycled.

A report tabled in the Legislative Assembly in 2021 recommended banning roadside corflutes. The report also suggested capping donations at $10,000 and banning political donations from the gambling industry.

Funding for domestic animal welfare

The ACT Government’s first Companion Animal Care Grants Program has awarded $200,000 to community organisations to improve animal welfare in Canberra.

The groups include ACT Pet Crisis Support; ACT Rescue and Foster; Canberra Pet Rescue; Canberra Street Cat Alliance; Completely Rescued; Labrador Rescue; Pets and Positive Ageing; Pets in the Park; RSPCA ACT; and the Rabbit Sanctuary.

The grants will fund volunteer-run vet clinics for low-income pet owners; services for elderly pet owners; medications for homeless people’s pets; food and litter for foster carers of cats; training for and desexing of rescue dogs; upgrading animal care facilities; and rescuing and rehoming rabbits.

Tara Cheyne, minister for city services, said most of the groups rely on volunteers and community support to rescue, rehome, advocate and care for pets.

“Unfortunately, with the current cost of living crisis, there is more demand than ever for the important work of pet rescue, rehoming, advocacy and other groups, with an increase in abandoned and surrendered animals,” Ms Cheyne said.

The ACT Government committed more money in this year’s budget to establish the program urgently.

“This funding is intended to provide timely support for Canberra’s these organisations, recognising the efforts of existing volunteer groups actively caring for Canberra’s companion animals,” Ms Cheyne said.

ACT Labor: Funding for apprentices

ACT Labor has promised $250 cost-of-living payments for all apprentices and trainees in 2025, and $250 for first year apprentices and trainees to buy tools and equipment, totalling $500.

Last week, local apprentices and trainees received a $250 cost-of-living payment for 2024. While the ACT Government says this recognises financial pressures many of them face as they study, Master Builders ACT has said this amount does not address the chronic lack of funding for apprentices in the sector, only equating to two tanks of fuel.

Labor would increase training subsidies to 90 per cent for critical skills areas including plumbing, carpentry, bricklaying, air conditioning, and landscape construction, supporting around 1,500 apprentices in its first year.

Labor intends to build 30,000 more homes by 2030, and states that more support for construction trades will help to deliver that plan. Labor would also extend the 90 per cent training subsidy across 20 qualifications, including early childhood, commercial cookery, and VET teaching.

Master Builders ACT said it welcomes the additional cost-of-living payment for apprentices and trainees, and strongly supports ACT Labor’s commitment to increase training subsidies to 90 per cent for apprentices and trainees in critical skills areas.

Acting CEO Ziad Zakout, said: “Increasing training subsidies is a welcome and important step forward to growing our construction workforce in the ACT. Growing the workforce is critical to ensuring we can meet our Housing Accord targets in years to come.”

Independents: Housing commissioner

Fiona Carrick, independent candidate for Murrumbidgee, advocates for the establishment of an Independent Housing Commissioner.

Reporting directly to the Legislative Assembly, the Commissioner would protect the rights of residents. They would focus on rental housing, strata management, retirement villages, and building regulation and compliance. They would help residents and owners by providing education, resolving disputes, providing regulatory services, and reporting to the Legislative Assembly with recommendations for fair practices in the housing sector. Ms  

Gary Petherbridge, from the Owners Corporation Network, said almost 40 per cent of homes are apartments, townhouses, or duplexes, but there is no single government body to address the requirements of strata living, and unclear legislation often leads to disputes requiring adjudication by ACAT.

“A Strata Commissioner or a Division within a Housing Commission could help solve this problem.”

“By addressing these critical areas,” Ms Carrick said, “we can ensure that housing quality is improved, disputes minimised, and the regulation of housing is independent.”

The Strong Independents also call for the appointment of a Strata Commissioner for the ACT to address issues faced by homeowners in strata properties like apartments, townhouses, and flats.

Peter Strong, candidate for Kurrajong, criticised the government for failures in overseeing building quality, leading to financial burdens on homeowners who now have to pay for repairs and maintenance due to poor construction. Homeowners are facing financial hardship, and some are going bankrupt, Mr Strong said, because they must cover costs for issues that are not their fault.

“A government took its eye off the quality of building in the Territory, and now the government turns a blind eye to the needs of the people they failed,” Mr Strong said. “Perhaps there isn’t much we can do for poor government performance and building practices of the past, but we can get tough now.”

The Commissioner would deal with executive committee members who look after their needs rather than those of all owners; make sure that all strata managers were properly trained and licenced; improve legislation and the operations of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT), which Mr Strong says are ambiguous and inconsistent; and make ACCESS Canberra and ACAT easier to deal with.

Mr Strong argues that only a strong crossbench of independents can ensure the Commissioner has real authority.

“The Greens have agreed to having a Strata Commissioner in place, but we know that it will likely end up as window dressing, just like, for example, the Integrity Commission the government set up – without the power or resources needed to do its job. The Greens also have a deep misunderstanding of how rentals work and an ingrained dislike of the people who own units as investments that they rent out to fund their retirement.”

Belco Party: Multicultural centre and language teaching

The Belco Party has committed to create a multicultural centre and to fund language schools.

The multicultural centre would serve as a hub for cultural events, social support, and passing on culture and language, Jason Taylor, candidate for Yerrabi, said.

The Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre, built nearly 20 years ago by the Stanhope government, is no longer fit for purpose, as it cannot accommodate multicultural groups’ needs, Mr Taylor said. Mr Taylor criticised the ACT Government’s efforts: this term, he said, all they have done is to refurbish a part of EPIC for hire – which neither he nor multicultural community groups believe is adequate.

“Many community groups simply cannot afford the hire fees for this and other venues,” Mr Taylor said. “This results in them not being able to celebrate significant cultural events, which is … unbelievably disappointing.”

Likewise, Mr Taylor said, many multicultural community members receive little to no government support for their language schools, instead relying on community and non-governmental resources. The Belco Party would advocate for a grants scheme to fund these language schools. The multicultural facility would support their operations.

Nearly half of Canberrans have at least one parent born overseas, Jason Taylor, candidate for Yerrabi noted, and the Belco Party wants multiculturalism to thrive.

Charter for kinship and foster carers

The ACT Government has introduced a Charter for Carers involved with ACT child protection services to ensure that carers receive the same level of recognition and support as parents, families, and children within the ACT child protection system.

There are already charters of rights for kids in care and for parents and families involved with child protection services.

All three charters will be registered as notifiable instruments this year.