Delivering the 2022 State of the Territory Business Address today, at the midway of the parliamentary term, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT had emerged from the pandemic stronger than before. His government’s priorities for the next two years are delivering better healthcare, building more affordable housing, skills training to continue the ACT’s unbroken economic growth, and the transition to a zero-emissions future – in preparation for Canberra’s population growing to half a million by the end of the decade.
“Canberra has faced unprecedented challenges as a community over the last two years,” Mr Barr said. “Odds are there are some more hurdles that we have to overcome. Let’s see what the pandemic and what COVID will bring over the northern hemisphere winter.
“But the position we are in now is more optimistic than it has been for some time. As a city, I think we have emerged stronger from the last few years.”
The ACT was the only jurisdiction whose economy grew through the pandemic, Mr Barr said: it is now 6.5 per cent larger in gross state product terms than before the pandemic. The ACT recorded 32 years of consecutive economic growth – which no other state or territory, and almost nowhere in the world, had done – and is anticipated to continue.
The ACT’s population growth also leads the nation, Mr Barr said.
“Over the past decade, our population has grown faster than any other state or territory.”
Canberra is likely to reach 500,000 people in 2027–28, years ahead of previous population projections from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This population boom, Mr Barr said, was driven by younger people: the number of millennials or Generation Y (aged 25 to 39) greatly exceeds the number of Baby Boomers; and people aged 25 to 34 make up the single largest demographic. This shows that the ACT retains university graduates, which is important for Canberra’s economic future and critical to addressing skills shortages, he said.
The ACT has both the strongest labour market and the lowest unemployment rate in Australia, Mr Barr said. The local economy supports 240,000 local jobs, and is on track to reach 250,000 jobs by 2025; the government hopes to reach 300,000 jobs by the end of the decade. Job vacancies were 50 per cent higher in August than a year before, and 80 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels in February 2020. Canberrans have the highest incomes in Australia, and spend more, he said; retail turnover trade increased by nearly a third (32.3 per cent) over the 12 months to August.
The next two years, Mr Barr said, will be defined by building Canberra’s future. “We need to invest now so that Canberra continues to be one of the world’s most liveable cities, as its population grows, and it grows quite rapidly. That means delivering more health services; building more housing; training more people; and leading the nation in the transition to a zero-emissions future.”
Housing
The number of people moving to Canberra had put strains and growing pains on Canberra, Mr Barr said; housing affordability and supply were problems, as they were nationally, and the problem demanded a co-ordinated response from all levels of government.
He welcomed the Budget announcement last week of an Accord between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the private sector to build at least one million new houses across Australia from 2024.
In the meantime, Mr Barr said, the ACT Government is delivering more diverse and affordable housing options across Canberra.
“A better mix of housing options is required to support the growing population, to ensure all Canberrans … can find a home that suits them,” he said.
The ACT Government seeks to deliver at least another 30,000 dwellings in the ACT over the next five years, taking the city’s housing stock from around 180,000 dwellings to more than 210,000.
This year’s ACT Budget made a further $30 million investment in the Growing and Renewing Public Housing program to add a further 140 dwellings to the 400 already promised. The program has renewed more than 1,200 public housing properties, Mr Barr said.
The government supports more Build-to-Rent programs to foster purpose-built long-term housing options, including more long-term rentals. It is, Mr Barr noted, a spectrum, from affordable to premium products. The Build-to-Rent Investment Prospectus aims to attract 10 to 20 large-scale investors to hold rental properties for two decades or more, and to deliver long-term leases for tenants. There are around 50,000 rental dwellings in the ACT. Through the Build-to-Rent model, he said, the government aims to add at least another 5,000 rentals (a 10 per cent increase in the rental stock) in the market as quickly as possible. Last month, the first dedicated Build-to-Rent site, in Turner, was released onto the market; at least 15 per cent of dwellings there will be affordable rentals for eligible tenants.
The land for this program will come from government releases (similar to the Turner site), planning system reforms, and redevelopment of privately owned leases, Mr Barr said. The government has introduced a new planning bill, and begun consultation on a draft Territory Plan and nine district planning strategies.
- ACT Government ‘focusing on outcomes’ in draft Territory Plan (1 November)
- Call for feedback on the final Territory Plan variations (27 October)
- ACT Government introduces reformed planning laws (21 September)
“We aim to manage a process of ‘gentle urbanism’ as our city grows: more affordable homes to own and rent, while keeping the fundamental character of the Canberra that we all love,” he said.
Skills
A growing workforce comes with a growing population, Mr Barr remarked; the government must ensure workers have the right mix of skills for jobs both today and in a decade.
The number of Canberrans with a degree or higher qualifications has grown by 40,000 in the past five years, while more than half of all Canberrans over the age of 15 have a vocational or territory qualification – double the national average, he said.
Mr Barr predicted that skills demand will be highest in health and the care economy, IT, advanced manufacturing, education and training, and professional services.
To meet that demand, this year’s ACT Budget invested $126.3 million in apprenticeships, traineeships, and other vocational educational activities, including through the User Choice and Skilled Capital programs.
Following the Jobs and Skills Summit in September, Chris Steel, ACT Minister for Skills, has begun a series of industry-specific roundtables, beginning yesterday with the tourism and hospitality sector.
“Working with sectors that have the highest skills need is an opportunity to plan and collaborate to best tackle the skills shortage,” Mr Barr said.
Health
Demand for quality healthcare services was increasing as Canberra’s population increased and aged, the Chief Minister stated. Health spending is the fastest-growing share of state and territory budgets, including in the ACT.
“It’s a problem confronting every state and territory government, and we are not immune from that in the Territory,” Mr Barr said.
The national primary health care system was on the verge of collapse, he said, due to a decade of deliberate federal government underfunding and neglect. That put more pressure on acute care and hospitals, the most expensive end of the healthcare system.
But the federal Labor government would address this chronic problem by rolling out new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Australia, including one in Canberra’s south. This reflected the ACT’s rollout of Nurse-Led Health Centres, Mr Barr said.
The ACT Government invested more than $600 million in the Canberra Hospital expansion, to be complete in 2024 – “the largest investment in healthcare in the Territory’s history,” he said. Once complete, the facility will include more operating rooms, more treatment spaces, and more intensive care beds – enabling Canberra and the region’s largest hospital to care for more patients and employ more specialists.
The government is also planning a new northside hospital to support the growing population north of Lake Burley Griffin.
Climate action
Canberra is leading on the nation on renewable energy, Mr Barr proclaimed. It intends to be net zero by 2045; he expects that by 2030, the ACT will have reduced emissions by 65 to 75 per cent from 1990 levels.
The Sustainable Household Scheme is at the centre of the government support for the Canberra community in this transition, Mr Barr said. In just over a year, it has delivered more than $98 million to households towards sustainable upgrades, including rooftop solar, electric heating and cooling, and electric vehicle chargers. Fully 5 per cent of all eligible households have participated in the scheme, which has won national and international awards.
- Sustainable Household Scheme loans for community groups (30 August)
- Sustainable Household Scheme puts more solar in city (19 May)
- Banksia Sustainability Awards recognise ACT Sustainable Household Scheme (1 April)
On a Territory-scale, the Big Canberra Battery will store renewable energy.
Canberrans are the fastest adaptors to electric vehicles in Australia, Mr Barr said; he is confident that over the next couple of years, ACT motorists will continue their nation-leading transition, as the number of vehicles grows and prices fall.
“Pretty soon, if you’re not driving an EV, you’ll be the odd one out,” he said. “This transition is going to happen very quickly, and it’s going to happen faster in Canberra than anywhere else.”
- Zero emission vehicles will be ‘easier and cheaper to access’, ACT Government says (20 July)
- ACT to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035 (18 July)
- ACT leads Australia for electric vehicle incentives (2 July)
At this stage, government intervention and assistance are needed, Mr Barr stated. The government is incentivising the take-up of electric vehicles, including two years of free registration for new or used vehicles. The government will also roll out more electric vehicle charging stations across Canberra; Mr Barr intends to have at least 180 publicly available charging stations by 2025. Each state government has equally ambitious programs, while the Australian government intends to install EV fast chargers every 100 km along the national highway network, he noted.
- ACT leads the nation in EV charging stations (11 August)
Infrastructure priorities
The ACT Government will prioritise infrastructure projects like the Canberra Hospital expansion, the new Canberra Theatre precinct, the Acton waterfront (which will open to the general public on Friday), extending light rail, and EV charging stations, Mr Barr said.
“We know that each of these projects contribute to making Canberra a better city to live in.”
Over the next two years, the government will update the Infrastructure Plan to reflect projects delivered and projects that it will budget for in the 2020s. The first part will be released early next year, focusing on arts, entertainment, and sporting infrastructure.
Civic and town centres will be renewed, Mr Barr stated. Once built, the Woden light rail terminus will form part of a broader public transport hub which, alongside the new CIT, will bring more people to the town centre. He noted that while these projects would not be completed for some years, the private sector had already responded, with a growing number of housing and hospitality options in the Woden Town Centre.
This year’s ACT Budget included more than $130 million in funding for community infrastructure, venues, arts, and culture. Mr Barr said these investments made Canberra a great place both to live and to visit.
In terms of tourism, he said, Canberra was better connected to the rest of Australia than before the pandemic, with more aeroplanes flying to more places. The government hopes to link Canberra Airport to Fiji, New Zealand, Singapore, and Qatar.
Federal Budget
Last month’s Federal Budget provided the most substantial investment in ACT infrastructure in more than a decade, Mr Barr said.
“It’s a very good start, and shows the new Government’s commitment to Canberra and its national capital role.”
- What’s in the Budget for the ACT? (26 October)
The Federal Budget included a new national security precinct, next to a future light rail stop; additional funding for the light rail 2A extension; upgrading and reopening the AIS Arena.
“I believe this is the beginning of a productive relationship with the Commonwealth and an aligned infrastructure and services agenda that a growing city like ours needs,” Mr Barr said.
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