Page 2896 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 June 2010

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children to Flynn … “We’re ecstatic, we’ve got the outcome that we wanted—somewhere to move and still service the community.”

Then we have comments from Alkira:

… the merger was a natural progression for the two providers … “Our families and our staff are just so over the moon about moving into a facility that is not dilapidated and falling down, and is purpose built.

Overall, it’s an excellent outcome, not just for Alkira and Gumnuts, but for all the north Belconnen families and the surrounding areas as well.”

So, Mrs Dunne, why don’t you ring Gumnut and Alkira and tell them you actually oppose their move?

MR SPEAKER: Mr Seselja has a supplementary question.

MR SESELJA: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, when did you first become aware that your statement made in the Assembly in May in relation to 110 childcare places was incorrect?

MS BURCH: I outlined that in my statement last night.

Sport—golf courses

MS LE COUTEUR: My question is to the minister for sport and concerns golf courses in Canberra. Minister, there are more golf courses per capita in Canberra than in any other city in Australia, and many golf courses are now wanting to sell off part or all of their courses for residential development. Has the minister developed a policy on how many golf courses there should be in the ACT and is there a strategy to ensure the continuing viability of golf courses in the ACT?

MR BARR: I thank Ms Le Couteur for the question. It is indeed a very relevant one. Ms Le Couteur is right: the ACT does have more golf courses per capita than any other city in Australia. That is a well-established fact. In the context of the number of available players and the popularity of golf as a sport as opposed to the many other forms of recreation that are available to Canberrans, combined with the impacts of the drought and what clearly is a playing field that is not level in terms of access to water across the golf courses in the territory, it is an entirely relevant issue.

It is clearly for those reasons that a number of golf courses have sought assistance from the government through our sport in a drought funding programs to seek to drought-proof their courses, to change their grass types and to be able to store more stormwater on site. Funding has been provided through those sport in a drought programs to the Federal Golf Club and, in this year’s budget, as we discussed last night, to Murrumbidgee and Yowani courses. There has been a limited level of redevelopment occurring on some golf course sites. I am thinking of Belconnen. And, yes, there are now two proposals before government and before the community in relation to courses on the south side of Canberra.


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