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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 3 Hansard (12 March) . . Page.. 970 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

government came along in 1989. One of the really big landmarks of modern history in Canberra was the return of a Labor government in 2001. That was a magnificent achievement.

I should say something about some of the other points of excellence about this wonderful town. There is now no charge for Floriade, the best floral display in the southern hemisphere. We have, quite seriously, an excellent innovation in the National Zoo and Aquarium that is attracting visitors to Canberra. We can celebrate that as a community. We do not celebrate enough the heritage places we have, such as the Lanyon Homestead.

There is some heritage stuff out Mr Stefaniak's way, towards Ginninderra Falls. There are some really top places out there. We have Tuggeranong Homestead. The Ginninderra School House is another one I can think of off the top of my head. We have the Tuggeranong School House. We need to recognise the fact that they are there. After 90 years, let's recognise that they are there and celebrate it.

Everybody comes to this town to look at all the things in the parliamentary triangle-the National Gallery, Questacon, the National Library, the National Museum, the War Memorial and so on. Everybody in the country knows about those. I am more interested in the ones that those people do not see. They do not see the innovation that we have round this town. I would like them to see some of the social experiments that have actually worked.

I happen to be gobsmacked every time I come over the hill at Erindale Drive and look down into the valley. I get quite emotional about it occasionally as it is such a fantastic scene. I look down on Lake Tuggeranong to see the activities there. The lake is small, but it has nice yachts on it and looks tremendous. It has model yachts on it. It has sea scouts. There are people walking around the lake.

When I lived in Preston, you could mow the lawn with a pair of nail clippers-I know because that was my job. We have a delightful city. We need to celebrate it. We need to celebrate that it has grown up from, as was said about Tuggeranong, being a good sheep paddock gone wrong. We need to make sure that everybody in the whole world knows about Canberra. We are 90 years old. Let us resolve to prepare for the time when Canberra is 100 and mark that event in a humungous way.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I could rabbit on for ages and ages about Canberra, but I won't for very much longer. I just thank God that I have a slice of heaven within my part of the world. I have lived in the part of West Belconnen that we were debating a minute ago. I can remember going to Mama Ria's pizza parlour in Kippax, which had the best pizzas in town at the time, and enjoying bringing up young kids there. It is just delightful now to see my grandkids running round the other side of town.

I reckon we ought to think quietly to ourselves about that sometimes. Being 90 is a huge thing; it really is. My wife's grandmother is 95 and she is something else. I reckon that Canberra is a grand old lady, just like my wife's grandmother.

MR STEFANIAK (5.30): I am not going to say a huge amount because Mr Hargreaves has said quite a lot. His motion is eminently worthy of support, acknowledging

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