Page 419 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 10 February 2021

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Amendment agreed to.

Original question, as amended, resolved in the affirmative.

Adjournment

Motion (by Mr Gentleman) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Parkrun

MR PARTON (Brindabella) (4.16): I want to speak this afternoon about the amazing work being done in Tuggeranong by my new friend Tyson Flynn, who is doing his darnedest to establish another official Parkrun on the south side, specifically in the Lanyon Valley.

For those not completely familiar with the Parkrun concept, Parkruns are free, weekly timed runs all around the world. Saturday mornings is when they happen. They are five kilometres. They take place in parks and open spaces. I am trying to think how many we have in Canberra. It must be seven. Parkruns are a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience where there is no time limit, no-one finishes last and everyone is welcome to come along, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate.

Along with my colleague Ms Lawder, we are regulars at one of the most populated Parkruns in Canberra, the Tuggeranong event—because everything is better on the south side. It starts at Tuggeranong Town Park. It wends its way around the lake and back again. We love it. I love the community vibe, the fact that it really encourages all of us to get out and be active.

Tyson is well aware that Tuggeranong is an extremely popular run and that perhaps the valley needs a second one—and who are we to argue? He has been going through the process of trying to establish a new one. He has got a course that takes in the views of Point Hut Pond at Gordon and would end up starting and finishing very close to Lanyon Marketplace. He has got a lot of people on board. He has had a number of meetings with the bigwigs of Parkrun and he is heading in the right direction to make it happen. I have yet to run the course with him, because I think I would be too slow, but dozens of people have done just that so far and we are just about at the next stage to make this happen.

Tyson and his band of volunteers are now on the hunt for some sponsorship dollars. We are not talking about absurdly high amounts of money. I believe that the Commonwealth Bank may be freed up for some sponsorship soon, but if this information gets to you as a potential sponsor and you are not sure how to make contact with Tyson, feel free to make contact with me and I will put you in touch with Tyson. I hope that Lanyon Parkrun can become a thing. I look forward to being one of the early volunteers and one of the first—if slow—runners.


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