A yet-to-be named Federal Government agency will move to the Gungahlin Town Centre if the Turnbull Coalition Government is re-elected, ACT Liberal Senator Zed Seselja has announced.
The agency chosen to be the first to operate from Gungahlin was likely to be one currently based in the Parliamentary area to avoid impacting on other town centres.
Senator Seselja said the move was an investment in the future of Gungahlin.
“With over 22,000 households now in the area, it’s important that we see these sorts of firm commitments from our Government representatives and I’m pleased to be delivering that today,” Senator Seselja said.
“An agency located in Gungahlin would help to grow and strengthen the existing community with greater demand for small businesses and facilities particularly during regular business hours.
“We know that the success of our local town centres is significantly impacted by the locations of Government Department offices, it’s how Canberra was designed. With Gungahlin’s expanding population the time is right for this kind of commitment.”
Senator Seselja said he had fought hard in recent years to ensure that decisions on major leases took into account local impacts, citing the Department of Immigration and Border Protection retaining its presence in Belconnen and a new building for the Department of Social Services in Tuggeranong as examples.
He was critical on ABC radio earlier this week of his government’s decision to move the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra to Armidale prior to completion of a cost-benefit analysis. That call is the result of a push by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, whose electorate of New England includes the regional centre of Armidale.
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