MEDIA RELEASE
$41 MILLION HIT TO BELCONNEN FROM IMMIGRATION MOVE
The huge economic cost of moving the Department of Immigration out of Belconnen has been revealed today.
Shifting the department would drain $41 million a year from local shops and cafes, seriously undermining the viability of these businesses.
Modelling from Urbis handed to the Canberra Times shows federal public servants spend about $45 each per workday in the businesses surrounding their workplaces.
With over 4,000 staff currently based at the department’s complex in Belconnen, these workers pour millions into the local economy each year – whether buying coffee, picking up their groceries or getting a quick haircut.
If the town centre loses this economic activity, the entire Belconnen community will suffer. The past few years have seen an explosion in new cafes and small businesses, which has created a more vibrant and welcoming community hub.
All of that is being put at risk by the proposal to move the department from the spot it has occupied since the 1970s.
The evidence is mounting up that moving Immigration would be bad for the Belconnen Town Centre and bad for the entire Northside community.
Minister Peter Dutton must accept what the facts are telling him and commit to keep the department where it is.
MONDAY, 13 APRIL 2015
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