Page 2788 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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MS LE COUTEUR: Mrs Dunne also did. We think that possibly it might become a visual arts precinct. I would like to suggest, in the circumstances, that some of the money be spent on comprehensive consultation and discussion to work out what the best outcome for this valuable resource is.
Also in Kingston, the future of Green Square has been causing a lot of concern to the government and to the community. (Second speaking period taken.) Clearly, the grass in Green Square is a very loved piece of grass. It is loved not only by the people who drink their coffee and go to the cafes there but, judging by the feedback, by people from all over Canberra. It is clearly the backyard to Kingston. Clearly, from talking to the government in some depth, one of the issues is that, because it is the backyard and there are so many medium-density developments around Kingston, it is being basically loved to death.
There is an issue with compaction. I think that the government should look at this. It is being loved to death. The solution is not to say, “No, you can’t have it.” The solution is to say, “Let’s redesign it so we can have high-quality grass and high use.” It can be done. I was in Melbourne over the Christmas break; outside the library in the centre of Melbourne, which I can assure you is an even busier area than Kingston, there is some absolutely gorgeous grass next to it with a coffee shop next door. You buy your coffee; the kids go and play on the grass. This is what the people want to do in Kingston. Why should we have to go to Melbourne to do it?
I asked the Chief Minister how much water was being used on Green Square, because I suspect that the number he gave was not accurate. Unfortunately, he has not yet been able to respond to my question. I suspect that possibly this is because the government does not actually know.
I would also point out that the government is currently asking the traders to pay for the capital costs of any change. I do not know if the government is aware, but many of the traders in the Cusack centre are being asked to go onto one-year leases. It is really unreasonable to expect traders who are on a one-year non-renewable lease to pay for capital improvements in an area which should be maintained by the government.
The final item to talk about in Kingston is the library. Of course, we are very glad to see that there will be a return of the library to the inner south. The new site at Kingston is going to be quite different from the old Griffith library, and there may be some issues with parking. We are very hopeful that these can be resolved with things like some dedicated parking spots for library users and some sort of system where you go to the library and get a ticket for your library parking spot. I have heard quite a few positive comments about the library, and I am very much looking forward to its new location and to its opening.
Let me go to trees. My colleague Mr Rattenbury has spoken about trees, and I have done so earlier. There was very little information provided to the estimates committee about the government’s proposed urban forest renewal program, which had $4.5 million assigned to it. Again, I have asked questions on notice and I have not yet received any answers to them.
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