Page 2714 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 23 June 2009

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progress on this issue. If Bill Wood could give a time frame of two months for progressing from decision to design work to implementation, why can’t Roads ACT do that now?

I ask the government to consider all options for expediting this work. I ask the government whether any of the $8 million from the shopping centre upgrade program or the “additional funding or repairs” listed on page 73 of budget paper 3 could be used. I would urge the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services to show some leadership on this issue, make a decision, have some clear time lines and fix the car park. Nicholls residents have endured enough of this government’s incompetence and inability to get even the most basic local infrastructure right. It is clear what the residents of Nicholls want and deserve, and it is about time the government fixed this mess.

MS BURCH (Brindabella) (4.22): I welcome the opportunity to speak today. As Tuggeranong was the place of choice for me and my family when I moved to the ACT, I would like to cover some of the improvements and the activities by the government in regard to facilities and services for the residents of Tuggeranong. Firstly, I would like to talk around the Aged Care and Rehabilitation Service which is establishing a community precinct in the old Village Creek school at Kambah. This precinct will include services such as the equipment loan scheme, the ACT equipment subsidy scheme, the ACT domiciliary oxygen and respiratory support service, the specialised wheelchair and posture seating service, prosthetics and orthotics services and vocational assessment and rehabilitation services. The Village Creek centre is expected to be operational in October 2009 with all services, apart from the independent living centre, relocating at that time. The independent living centre is scheduled to relocate in December 2009.

Madam Deputy Speaker, on road improvements, the need to duplicate Lanyon Drive has been identified for some time. Lanyon Drive is part of an arterial road network, carrying approximately 23,000 vehicles per day, including a large proportion of heavy vehicles. Stage 2 works continue the duplication, and the construction of these road networks will be undertaken in one contract jointly managed by Roads ACT and the RTA of New South Wales. The Drakeford Drive duplication is complete and the Tharwa Drive duplication is well on track and will provide improved access for local residents. The feasibility work to establish the viability of a third south-bound lane on the Monaro Highway through Hume will be undertaken. The third lane will manage the forecast traffic projections, given the current traffic conditions in this area are often congested during peak hours. Given that is my road to and from home, I welcome that study.

A recent grant announcement provided support for a new artificial hockey pitch in Tuggeranong and an extended gymnastics facility at Erindale. These are just two examples of local projects that will have major benefits for our local community.

Child and family centres service families with children across our community. Building on the success of the Gungahlin centre, the Tuggeranong Child and Family Centre opened in July 2007 and continues to provide a wide range of universal and targeted services to the Tuggeranong community. Child and family centres aim to


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