Snowy Hydro SouthCare Fund – Snowy Hydro SouthCare Fund Building

Territory and Municipal Services – Canberra Avenue Bus Priority Measures and Cycle Lanes

West Belconnen Health Cooperative Ltd – Focused Aged Care Primary Care Services

The full list of projects is located here.

I am very honoured to have been preselected as a candidate for ACT Labor in Molonglo at the 2012 Legislative Assembly election.

My aim is to bring fresh ideas, energy and experience to the ACT legislative assembly as part of the Labor Government’s 4th term. I advocate a future for Canberra based on innovation, integrity and inclusion.

I will campaign for:

• Sustainable Prosperity – I am committed to continuing the work of leading Canberra towards a sustainable and prosperous future. I believe that economic growth and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive. Fostering clever and sustainable local businesses will keep ideas and talent in Canberra and create jobs for our children. Taking a long term approach to the policy decisions of today will shape a better future for Canberrans tomorrow.

• A New Economy for Canberra – Our economy, community and environment cannot be considered in isolation. Diversifying our economy will play a key role in developing sustainable prosperity for all Canberrans. We need to continue to develop our private sector to create an expanded and vibrant economy that will enhance Canberra’s standard of living and create jobs in industry sectors such as education, information technology and tourism.

• Social Inclusion – In life there are many transitions that that can bring crises and challenges. At these moments we need to feel that we are part of a supportive community. Social inclusion is central to my political beliefs. That is why I am on the Board of Common Ground Canberra, an organisation developing a supportive, innovative, inclusive and permanent housing model to help end homelessness and provide affordable housing in Canberra. I am also committed to ensuring there is appropriate choice and quality available in aged care housing and services while maintaining the dignity of older members of the community.

After a 25 year career in the public service and private sector, I understand the unique characteristics that drive our economy. My work with the Common Ground, CollabIT – an industry collaboration cluster, the Canberra Business Council Innovation Taskforce, Civil Liberties Australia and the Australian Republican Movement has shown me how community engagement can and does make a difference.

I look forward to listening to the needs, ideas and challenges of people within the Canberra community over the next 10 months and urge people to contact me on:

Phone: 02 6162 0062 (option 1)

Email: david@davidmathews.com.au

Twitter: davidmmathews

There is a link to the Community Engagement site which provides a snapshot on the various activities going on around the Territory, and a great feature where Cabinet summaries are provided online.

A range of ACT Government data is also available via the www.data.gov.au site. This provides info on an eclectic range of services and facilities including the location of public toilets & bbqs, the suburb of residence of students attending different ACT public schools, and journey planner data for ACTION buses. Hopefully the scope and scale of this information will grow exponentially over the next few years.

Work is already under way to deliver the NBN to 6,000 premises in Gungahlin, but that will grow to over 20,000 during the next 12 months. A detailed map of the rollout location will be provided by NBN Co in January next year.

NBN Co Chief Executive Mike Quigley said:

“We’ll be publishing regular updates about where precisely the NBN is being rolled out and when it will reach each area. Public education activity, to launch next year, will also explain what the rollout will mean for every Australian, how to connect to the network and why it is important that the nation upgrades its telecommunications infrastructure.”

This is again great news for Gungahlin, which has suffered from poor broadband services over the past 16 years. The commitment will help deliver improved education and health services while providing Gungahlin with new economic opportunities.

Further info can be found on the Federal Government’s site, www.nbn.gov.au and on the NBN Co website, www.nbnco.com.au.

Senator Kate Lundy opened proceedings, foreshadowing minor amendments and suggesting:

“…the purpose of this bill is to remove the power of the executive to overturn territory legislation behind closed doors without a parliamentary process. This has become known as the power of veto, if you like, over territory legislation. It is an executive mechanism that we in the Labor Party agree does not accurately reflect the status, the capability and the maturity of either the ACT assembly or the Northern Territory parliament.”

Senator Lundy also noted the broader scope of an examination of the ACT Self-Government ACT:

“Through the course of the inquiry into this bill many comments were made, particularly by the opposition, recognising that it was time for a broad update of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act. That recognition was across the board. In speaking to this bill as an ACT senator, I tend to agree. In fact the ACT government and Chief Minister have for some time been saying that it is probably time for an update of and a closer look at the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act, given that it came into force back in 1989.”

It is indeed time we had a comprehensive review of the Self-Government Act. The ACT’s ability to set its own laws without the threat of executive veto is only one element of what should be an extensive review into governance of the ACT.

The Opposition went on to oppose the bill yesterday, with Senator Gary Humphries more interested in attacking Senator Bob Brown and the Greens’ leader’s reason for putting this legislation to the Parliament than he was in debating the merits of the Bill and its fundamental change to the democratic rights of electors in the ACT. Senator Humphries is struggling in no man’s land on this question – on the one hand he has supported Territory rights in the past, yet yesterday he said he could not support:

“…piecemeal legislation designed more for political purposes…”

Senator Humphries argued that he knew what people in the ACT wanted and that he did:

“…not think they want the institution of self-government to be toyed with by federal politicians.”

So while Senator Humphries thinks the bill is about federal parliament toying with self-government, he is happy to reject a bill that gives the democratically elected ACT Legislative Assembly the ability to decide its own laws without the possibility of a federal Minister knocking down legislation at the stroke of a pen.

Senator Humphries accuses Labor and the Greens of playing politics, yet he’s happy to ensure the democratic rights of the people he represents continue to suffer because of his own party’s petty political point scoring.

Government is about reform by degree and this bill goes some way to providing equitable rights to the people of the ACT. A broader examination of the ACT Self-Government act should follow.

The full text of the debate is available here.

The bill will be debated in the Senate on Thursday.

“Public policy consideration of social and environmental factors as well as economic factors is nothing new, but putting triple bottom line (TBL) principles into practice by implementing a detailed and formal assessment framework are increasingly being adopted in both the public and private sector and that is what the ACT Government is now proposing to do.”

While internationally efforts have been put into measuring and reporting against social, environmental and economic factors after implementation, this framework focuses on developing an up-front assessment that can lead to more informed public policy development. I would liken the social elements of the framework to the “lens of social inclusion” which I have written about in the past.

The Government has committed to the development of a pilot program of TBL for major policy proposals, with assessment of the pilot after four months. Following community feedback, the aim is to finalise the approach by the end of 2011.

• To ensure that Canberra is a liveable, sustainable city
• That its people enjoy timely access to healthcare
• That there is help for those most in need
• That there are housing options for all Canberrans
• That Canberra people have skills for life and for our economy
• That we have a robust local economy and a balanced tax system
• That there is improved access to and use of public transport, and
• There is continued improvement in public safety

The Chief Minister argues the priorities “come from what we have heard from our community, they focus on the decisions Government needs to make and they set measureable targets on which I, as Chief Minister, and my government as a whole, will be measured against.”

I welcome the spirit of openness and transparency in the Ministerial Statement – government needs to outline a clear plan to the community and then be accountable for its actions and outcomes.