With only 10 days until Australians vote in the federal election, both the Liberal and Labor parties have promised a few extra million dollars in funding for the ACT, if they are successful at the poll.
Federal Labor announced on Wednesday that it would put an additional $10 million towards the construction of a Youth Foyer at Woden's Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) campus.
ACT Labor senator Katy Gallagher said the funding was important to tackle housing affordability and help resolve Canberra's housing crisis.
Senator Gallagher said the Youth Foyer would offer young at-risk Canberrans a place to live that supported their continued education.
"[It's] student accommodation essentially, but for young people potentially at risk of becoming homeless or disengaged from education," she said.
Senator Gallagher said the Youth Foyer would be able to house 20 students and said the model had been proven to have "significant improvements in the education, employment and housing outcomes of vulnerable young people".
"They also help to stop long-term reliance on income support, social housing, support services and interactions with the corrections system," she said.
"This is what good, progressive governments do – they make investments that change lives for the better."
The CIT Woden campus is expected to be complete in about 2025.
'Facilities to help young athletes thrive'
Also on Wednesday, the Liberal party promised some financial support to help build a football facility in Canberra's north — called the Home of Football.
The Home of Football is set to be constructed in the suburb of Throsby and will provide a dedicated competition and training facility for up to 30,000 Canberrans.
The facility has already received funding from the ACT government and Capital Football, but so far remains an empty field.
ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja said his party could fix that by pledging $4.5 million to the project, matching Capital Football's contribution.
Senator Seselja said he expected the promised spend on the Home of Football to be welcomed by Canberrans.
"Next year Australia will host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which will provide a platform that inspires girls to give football a go, and Canberra's new Home of Football will mean the Canberra community has the facilities to help young athletes thrive.
"This critical funding will support the delivery of additional football fields in Gungahlin, and much needed indoor sports courts for Futsal and basketball."
In response to the Liberal party's pledge for the football facility, Senator Gallagher said Labor was not yet across the proposal but would consider pledging the same $4.5 million "if it's sensible".
But Senator Seselja said he believed only the Liberal government had an economically viable plan for the ACT's future that allowed for such a spend.
