RDA ACT, while recognising the significance the Draft Planning Strategy places on the value and importance of the ACT’s place and role in the region, has identified scope to further develop the regional perspective within this document.

To read the full RDA ACT submission to the ACT Draft Planning Strategy, click here.

The link to the ACT Draft Planning Strategy is here.

]]> http://rdaact.org.au/2012/02/rda-act-submission-act-draft-planning-strategy/feed/ 0 http://rdaact.org.au/2012/02/uc-student-prize-awarded/ http://rdaact.org.au/2012/02/uc-student-prize-awarded/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:33:51 +0000 Liz Veitch http://rdaact.org.au/?p=1425 Read More »]]> The 2011 RDA ACT Student Essay Competition Prize has been presented to winning student Michael Cusack (pictured centre) by RDA ACT Chair Craig Sloan (left) and Deputy Chair Professor Barbara Norman (right) for his essay titled –Sustainable Canberra 2030.

For the past two years Regional Development Australia ACT has awarded an Essay Prize to the University of Canberra (UC) student judged by the convenor of the unit – Strategic Planning, Urban and Regional Planning, to have produced the best essay.

Joining RDA ACT Committee members at the presentation of the Certificate and a cheque for $500 were invited guests Assistant Professor Dr Hitomi Nakanishi, Assistant Professor Dr Richard Hu, Michael’s parents Ian and Sarah Cusack, and employer Pieter van der Walt.

The group met with the Ministerial staff to convey the importance to Regional Australia of an east coast High Speed Rail network.

The group conveyed a clear message to the two Ministers that they saw the development of a rapid east coast transport network not only as key to future development and growth of regional Australia, but also as an unprecedented opportunity to address congestion issues in the major metropolitan centres. The issue of congestion at Sydney Airport was also discussed.

The RDAs also offered to provide liaison assistance to the Federal Department and to its consultant undertaking the Phase Two Study. This offer was appreciated by Mr Richard Farmer, of the Department of Infrastructure, who was also in attendance. The Phase Two Study was due for completion by the end of 2012, with a response from the Federal Government likely in early 2013.

As a post script to the meeting, the very next day (16 February), NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell ruled out supporting a second airport in the Sydney basin, saying Canberra Airport should instead be linked to Sydney by fast train.

“If you want to have greater flights into this city, do so as happens overseas, by using an adjacent airport and link the two by fast rail,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

“The best way to deal with a second airport for Sydney, is not have it in Sydney, but utilise Canberra Airport and link the two cities by fast rail.”

”This is an endless debate that comes out from time to time. The fact is that no other part of Sydney is going to be contaminated by the sort of noise that is connected with an airport.”

Mr Stephen Byron, of the Canberra Airport added;

”We believe we can play a greater role as an overflow airport for Sydney, not a second airport, if they build a train,” Mr Byron said.

Extracts from:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/new-sydney-airport-should-be-in-canberra-ofarrell-20120215-1t7f9.html#ixzz1mV0ftwgQ

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/sydney-airport-plans-fail-to-fly/story-fn6cbu6v-1226271862895

Funding will support industry associations and non-profit organisations, potentially working in partnership with local governments,  to deliver information about energy efficiency to business and community groups that will help them to better respond to the impact of increasing energy costs, including the carbon price.

This is a merit-based competitive grants program that will support initiatives that make us smarter in our energy use, providing funding for eligible costs in the range of $100,000 to $1 million.  Applications for Round 1 close 16 March 2012.

Programs include:

The Community Energy Efficiency Program – $200 million to assist local government, not-for-profit and community organisations to undertake energy efficiency upgrades to community infrastructure e.g. council buildings, stadiums, education facilities, town halls and nursing homes.

The Low Income Energy Efficiency Program – $100 million to support groups of service providers to demonstrate smarter energy use in low income households across Australia.

The Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program – $40 million to support small and medium sized businesses and community groups by providing information and advice to make smarter energy choices.

The Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program forms part of the Commonwealth Government’s – Securing a Clean Energy Future Plan; for the Program Guidelines, click here.

The ACT Government media release can be found at http://www.chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=11322

With the release of the first tranche of capacity under the Act, industry will have an opportunity to compete for establishment of up to 40MW of solar generation from large-scale facilities located in the ACT.

The auction aims to:

• significantly contribute to the Territory’s greenhouse gas abatement targets
• leverage economies of scale and location, provide financial security for developers and reduce solar energy costs, and
• enhance the clean energy industry in the ACT.

Further information can be found on the Directorates website.

Information above sourced from the Media Release and the Directorate’s Website.

“The Report on Site Selection for the New North Canberra Sub-Acute Hospital identifies four potential sites including the Calvary Hospital Campus, the University of Canberra, Gungahlin Town Centre, and Block 12 Section 78 Nicholls.

The report assesses the four sites against a range of criteria including size, topography, environment and heritage, access to facilities such as other hospitals, transport, compatibility with the Territory Plan, and opportunity costs.

When assessed against the selection criteria, the University of Canberra has been identified as the best site for a new hospital. The main benefits of UC include the available land, the proximity of the site to Calvary Hospital, and the collocation with the Faculty of Health (Nursing and Allied Health) which could assist the ACT with training and recruitment of our workforce and provide opportunities for collaboration and research.”

“If the UC site was to be selected for the new hospital, the potential benefits to the University, the Government and the broader community could be significant, by attracting more students to Canberra and providing recruitment and training opportunities for our health workforce.

“I am determined to ensure that the investments we make deliver broader economic benefits to the Canberra community by creating linkages with business, industry and educational facilities. This will help us to continue to work towards delivering a truly strong knowledge-based city,” the Chief Minister said.

Further information is available at http://www.health.act.gov.au/latest-news/

A study, commissioned by the ACT Government, has determined that currently the ACT does not have the capacity to host an event of the size and requirements of the G20.

“The Prime Minister has now contacted all state and territory leaders seeking expressions of interest in hosting the world’s pre-eminent forum for global economic and financial cooperation and decision-making,” ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said.

“Late last year I wrote to NSW Premier, Mr Barry O’Farrell, proposing that our two governments work cooperatively with the aim of Sydney hosting the major summit meeting, while Canberra plays host to a number of the significant side events.

“We believe this collaborative approach provides a compelling, unified case for the Commonwealth’s consideration, putting forward Australia’s largest city and its national capital as joint hosts. Our cities are well connected by road and are only 30 minutes apart by air.

“Premier O’Farrell has agreed with my suggestion and proposed that in the first instance officials from the ACT and NSW meet to discuss opportunities for a joint bid…

…we are well placed to host the side events that are staged in the lead up to and during the actual G20 Summit. We have demonstrated in recent times, following successful visits by the Royal Family and the President of the United States, that Canberra can still play a significant G20 hosting role…

…This latest collaboration with NSW follows the recent signing of the ACT-NSW Memorandum of Understanding on Regional Collaboration which established a new partnership between the two governments on economic development and service delivery.

“The ACT lies within the borders of New South Wales and is a provider of key services to surrounding NSW residents. These collaborative efforts recognise the mutual benefits and increased opportunities that emerge by pursuing a more regional approach,” the Chief Minister said…

The Chief Minister’s media release can be found at   http://www.chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=11295

The new location, whilst not providing us with the broad selection of cafes and coffees shops we have been used to, allows us to be nearer our stakeholders in Civic, and more centrally located on the City’s major north/south transit route – Northbourne Avenue.

Our doors are open for business from today (Monday 19 December), although if you plan to visit expect a bit of mess and chaos for at least this week. We close up for the year on Thursday afternoon of this week and will be back on deck on Wednesday 4 January. If you are around, pop in and say g’day!

Most of our contact details remain the same – including phone numbers and PO Box, however our new street address can be found on our Contact page.

Also at the community meeting was Senator Kate Lundy – a long time supporter and proponent of the NBN.

The main presentation from NBN was delivered by Dan Flemming, NBN national head of construction. After the presentations, those in attendance had a wide range of questions ranging from practical issues around location of the services in the house, to future use of Telstra copper phone lines, location of street equipment etc, through to complex questions around impact of the iiNET/TransACT purchase, Telstra / NBN agreement, and potential implications of a change of Federal Government.

In Gungahlin, there have been two FSAMs (Fibre Serving Area Modules) announced, covering Ngunnawal and Amaroo mostly, and the footprint for the next FSAMs will be available will be early next year. The good news is that the NBN Co. announcement in October not only confirmed that 20,800 premises (the Gungahlin region) are in the time frame for commencement in the next 12 months, but that FSAMs should take around 12 months, on average, from start to switch on.

From (http://www.katelundy.com.au/2011/12/13/nbn-rollout-update-for-gungahlin-residents/)

NBN Co have repeatedly stated that once they finish the commitment of the 20,8000 premises in Gungahlin that they (through Silcar) will continue with the deployment across the rest of the ACT. They have also committed to ramping up roll out capability to reach peak national servicing (6,000 households per day) by around 2014/2015.

Further information can be found through Kate Lundy’s Blog and also at the NBN  Co website.

The RDA ACT will also be taking a strong interest in application and advanced utilisation of the increased broadband speeds leading into the first connections going ‘live’ in late 2012. Watch this space.

Kate Lundy talking with Dan Flemming of NBN Co