THE Property Council ACT’s Catherine Carter has come out strongly in support of the Capital Metro light rail project.
“The $600 million Capital Metro project – with Stage One linking the city to Gungahlin and Dickson Town Centre – has the potential to create jobs, attract investment and provide economic uplift across the capital,” Catherine said.
“We need our own critical infrastructure projects in the nation’s capital – and a project that can help Canberra become a more liveable, efficient and sustainable city ticks a lot of boxes.
“Canberra is unique, in that rail corridors were embedded in city planning – this makes the project a relatively straightforward proposition.
“Of course, the devil is in the detail, and the big question is: who will pay for the project?
“Industry is ready to champion Capital Metro, but we need to see costings and budgets, as well as a funding model. The ACT Government is considering the concept of ‘value capture’ – using an increase in land values to raise money for the project, as well as the introduction of a special rating zone. No matter which way you look at it, new taxes in the form of increases in rates or through development levies all amount to the same thing: another tax for an already overtaxed industry.
“While how we fund light rail is up for debate, an integrated public transport system is essential for Canberra’s future as a city of opportunity.”
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply