The new emergency services station in Acton will be operational by June 2025 – nearly four years after the ACT Government told firefighters it would be built.

The joint fire and ambulance station, between Clunies Ross Street and Parkes Way, will be completed in December.

When the station was announced in 2020, the government said it would be operational by 2022-23, while the United Firefighters Union (UFU) ACT Branch were told it would be completed by the end of 2021, secretary Greg McConville said last year, irate work had not begun by the start of 2023. Mick Gentleman, ACT Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, and ACT Fire & Rescue blamed the delay on a too-ambitious timeframe, COVID, supply chain issues, and infrastructure suppliers Evoenergy and ActewAGL being too slow. Work began in August.

The $40 million facility will serve the city, Woden, and Molonglo Valley; its central location would ensure swift response times for city and inner north residents, Mr Gentleman said. The station will be energy-efficient and fully electric, in line with the ACT’s Climate Change Strategy: solar panels on the roof will create 142 MWh per year, and chargers will power the electric vehicle fleet.

“This station represents a further investment in our Emergency Services Agency and the community’s safety,” Mr Gentleman said.

Netball court upgrades

The court surfaces at the Arawang Netball Association in Stirling and the Canberra Netball Association in Lyneham have been upgraded, sport and recreation minister Yvette Berry announced.

This completes the first phase of $7.5 million works to upgrade Canberra’s district netball facilities, a 2020 commitment on which work began at the end of last year.

Work will start later this year on the netball facilities in Calwell, Charnwood and Deakin, to improve the playing surface, fencing, drainage and stormwater management.

“Netball is one of the Canberra’s largest sports, with over 12,000 participants, and these upgrades will ensure that players are able to continue to play their sport on high quality playing surfaces,” Ms Berry said.