Today the ACT Greens have secured further improvements from the ACT Government as part of negotiations for the 2025/26 ACT Budget. Among these gains is a scheme to provide financial support for low-income households and cheaper library hire fees.
This announcement follows earlier Greens negotiations, including cutting Labor's proposed $250 health levy down to $100 by pushing the government to partly adopt our policy to make big corporations like Qantas pay more tax.
"Since the Budget was announced, the Greens have secured important changes that increase the territory's revenue base and more importantly, deliver better outcomes for Canberrans struggling with the rising cost of living across the territory," said Leader of the ACT Greens, Shane Rattenbury.
"Earlier this year, Labor tried to justify axing the rent relief fund by claiming it was just legacy COVID-19 support. But community pressure has made clear that people are still doing it tough and need support-and now the government has admitted as much.
"Call it a rent relief fund or something else- we welcome the recognition by the Labor Party that there is a real need in the community for support in a crisis.
"The government has also agreed to restore discounted hire rates for community organisations booking spaces in public libraries-a small but important reprieve for small but mighty community groups that already run on the smell of an oily rag.
"In their first solo budget in over a decade, Labor has drifted from their roots, failing to deliver the funding and the certainty that the most in need from our community deserve.
"Earlier this year, ACTCOSS released a cost-of-living report that underlined just how bad the situation is: over the last five years Canberrans have seen the prices of essentials like housing, education and food increase by in-excess of twenty percentage points.
"Despite the wins we have secured, the Greens are disappointed that Labor has comprehensively failed on the environment this budget-completely neglecting funding for environment groups, geting slippery on their promise to phase out wood heaters, and shelving plans to renaturalise our waterways in need of desperate help.
"Canberrans care about our environment and our climate and they deserve a government that does too. But from day one, Labor has treated climate and environment as optional extras, instead of the critical policy areas they actually are."
