Independent community-endorsed ACT Senate candidate David Pocock said it was disappointing to see Senator Seselja has not taken on board community feedback on his proposal to upgrade Viking Park.
David noted that while Viking Park is a much-loved local asset, the simple upgrade proposal falls well short of community expectations.
“This re-announcement from Senator Seselja hasn’t gotten much better with age,” David said.
“Senator Seselja failed to secure any actual funding for this project in the federal budget.
“This is part of a track record of not delivering for the Canberra community despite being in government for almost a decade.
“The community could not have been clearer in their response to this idea when it was floated a month ago. They want to see something that goes a lot further.
“While welcome, the proposal to upgrade Viking Park falls well short of what’s needed.
“In last month’s federal budget we saw the ACT finish in last place for infrastructure investment once again with just 0.3% of the total national spend despite needing to make up for decades of neglect.
“The business community has been asking for a fit-for-purpose National Convention Centre for over a decade. We aren’t able to host major conferences in Canberra and we are missing out on an opportunity to grow our economy and host the best in the world here in the ACT.
“Over Senator Seselja’s nine years - three full terms - in government, we’ve seen Canberra miss out on our fair share of infrastructure spending.
“And now we’re seeing promises of a suburban rugby stadium upgrade if we re-elect him for a fourth term. He hasn’t delivered and this re-announcement doesn’t offer anything like the long-term vision for our city we need.
“We need the type of infrastructure that will pump millions of dollars into our local economy, into the hands of local workers and businesses.
“The community expects, and deserves, much more from Senator Seselja and the Federal Government when it comes to investment in the ACT.”