Page 3542 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 15 November 2006
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That aside, though, it is extremely important, I think, as a human being to be part of a larger community, in some ways segmented down to a region of your own and a home of your own. I live in Holt and it has a soft spot in my heart because I have been there for so long. I have been in Belconnen ever since I came here and it occupies an important part of my and my family’s life.
As I said earlier, it is extremely important to belong to this large community of the ACT. It has been a matter of great pride to me that I have been elected by the people of Belconnen several times to represent them. I trust that I have been able to do that in a way that pleases those who gave me their support. I have also been a representative, though, of suburbs in the far south in the first electoral system in the ACT. It was, I have to say, no more or less of a joy to me to talk to people from Tuggeranong than it has been to converse with people in Belconnen about their issues.
It does not matter much to me where people come from in the ACT. If they have issues that they want to raise, I am happy to deal with them. So in that sense I do not see Belconnen to be that separate. But I think it is important when discussing these issues just to acknowledge the way that people come together. This most recent celebration has been an important part of not only the development of Belconnen but also the development of Canberra as a great city.
It has been a matter of great pride to me to be part of that relatively short history and to share my engagement with the community since 1972 with so many people who have contributed to the development of our great city. Happy birthday, Belconnen!
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (4.08), in reply: Firstly, I would like to thank all members for contributing to the debate on the 40th birthday of Belconnen. It seems quite a while ago since we reflected in this place on Belconnen’s beginnings and its development to where it is now. We noted the upcoming festival, and, as members have said, the festival was held on Saturday.
Unfortunately, I missed seeing the Chief Minister cut the large birthday cake. I was representing him at the function at that time and I arrived later. However, there was still plenty of activity, with many community groups and artists and performers providing people with lively entertainment, scrumptious foods and lots of fun. My five-year-old step-granddaughter, Caitlin, was part of a group called Peacock Studio that performed a Middle-Eastern dance. Later I attended the Macgregor primary school fete where Caitlin will go to school next year. There was a lot of fun, food and entertainment at the fete.
As the Chief Minister has already said, thanks must obviously go to all those who worked so hard to put the festival together, particularly the Belconnen Regional Community Service, and everyone who spent many, many hours preparing for the event and working voluntarily on the day. Thanks also to the businesses that support the festival every year through financial or in-kind support. The ACT government is proud to continue its financial support of the festival through the grants process.
The ACT government also presented a 40th birthday gift to Belconnen in the form of a major public artwork for Lake Ginninderra. The artwork, Running Lights, by
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