Andrew Leigh (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My office is currently running a campaign to keep the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in Belconnen. In conjunction with ACT MLAs Yvette Berry, Mary Porter and Chris Bourke, we are campaigning against the Abbott government's flagrant disregard for Canberra. You would expect that the Abbott government would be proud that, when the OECD looked across the advanced world to see which was the most liveable region in the advanced world, it settled upon Canberra. Yet, at every turn, the Abbott government seems to be looking to denude and damage this fantastic city.

Under a Labor government, we invested in Belconnen, ensuring that Belconnen schools had first class resources; ensuring that when the global financial crisis struck building workers were kept in employment through building facilities such as the skate park on the Lake Ginninderra foreshore; ensuring that Belconnen residents have high-quality medical care through the GP superclinic at the University of Canberra; and ensuring that their students are able to study sports science through the investment in the sports hub. I commend those ACT Labor members who are working to keep jobs in Belconnen. For those who have not signed my petition, join the 2,500 people who have and jump on the website and do so.