Page 93 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 December 2008
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ACT Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Authority, dated 2 September 2008;
Department of Education and Training, dated 22 September 2008.
Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act, pursuant to section 13—ACT Planning and Land Authority, dated 18 September 2008.
Mr Corbell presented the following paper:
Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Act—Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Amendment Regulation 2008 (No 2)—Subordinate Law SL2008-45, together with its explanatory statement (LR, 30 September 2008).
Petition—out-of-order
Paper and statement by member
Mr Corbell presented the following paper:
Petition which does not conform with the standing orders—Green Square, Kingston—Ms Le Couteur (243 signatures).
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo), by leave: Over the past couple of years, local business people around Green Square in Kingston have compiled a petition asking for the grass and trees in Green Square to be watered again. The petition has over 240 signatures and, on behalf of the businesses of Green Square, the residents who live nearby and all the people who use Green Square, I have lodged it in the Assembly.
It might surprise some people to hear that the Greens are arguing in favour of watering a conventional lawn at a time when water is becoming increasingly scarce but there are many good reasons to water this lovely patch of grass. The Green Square lawn is an important part of the Green Square precinct and it should be kept green.
It is important to the local small businesses which are an essential part of the ACT economy and whose interests the government so often overlooks. The local businesses benefit from the pleasant environment that having the Green Square adjacent to their businesses created.
Before the grass dried off, children played on it, people sat on it and ate their lunch and had coffee which they bought from the local businesses. Especially now, with the global financial crisis impacting on the small businesses of the ACT, we need to help them all we can through this difficult time.
In recent years, we have seen more medium-density development in the Kingston area. This has been a big step in the right direction to make the ACT more sustainable. Public open space like Green Square is vital for a city that is moving towards medium-density living, where people do not have large backyards of their own, and it is essential that the government maintain lawn areas in areas of our communities where they are used for recreation and for children to play on.
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