Page 3902 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (3.50): I rise in support of the motion by Mr Smyth, a timely motion that highlights the attitude of this government and their long-term neglect over the past nine years towards the community serviced by the Kambah Village and, indeed, towards Tuggeranong as whole.
We have been highlighting for years the fact that Tuggeranong generally has been left out of much of the overall infrastructure planning of the territory. The Tuggeranong town centre itself has prompted prominent members of the community and businesses to highlight the decline over the past few years, exemplified by the fact that there are over 25 empty shops in Anketell Street and the Hyperdome Shopping Centre.
This decline has seen Business Tuggeranong issues headlined in the Chronicle recently, with prominent and dramatic headlines like last week’s “Save our town centre”. The facilitator for the Business Tuggeranong group, Jill Faulkner, was quoted as saying:
Having a master plan for Tuggeranong is critical, I think it’s strange that there hasn’t been one developed as the majority of other town centres have them.
Well, Ms Faulkner, I also think it strange and, prior to being elected to the Assembly, I had been calling on Mr Hargreaves and this government for the past eight years to heed the call of this community and treat Tuggeranong with the same respect they have for other areas. As Ms Faulkner so rightly stated in the Chronicle article I mentioned:
There has been a lack of planning for Tuggeranong, things just seem to happen here with no overall view on how it fits in with the area.
We have to plan what needs to happen here, instead of it just happening.
Then we look at Calwell, where all the previous comments can just as well apply—and also to the businesses around the Calwell shopping centre. The residents and the Neighbourhood Watch group there, led by Nick Tsoulias, have been trying to get the government to focus on this growing, yet much neglected, area. Mr Hargreaves, during his tenure as a minister, did precious little to answer the call of the locals. In fact, I well remember one instance over six years ago when I presented a petition with 600 signatures, on behalf of the Calwell and nearby communities of Isabella Plains and Theodore, calling for action to upgrade the Calwell shopping centre surrounds. Mr Hargreaves commented that, even if I had 6,000 signatures, he would not budge from his stance. Well, his constituents from this area have largely deserted him. They have changed tack and have been trying to engage with the Chief Minister, but their calls for attention here too are falling on deaf ears.
Which brings us back to Mr Smyth’s motion, which again highlights the attitude of this government. It highlights the long years of neglect that have been the significant trademark of this Stanhope government over the past nine years. Mr Smyth’s motion focuses on the real and urgent needs of the Kambah Village retail precinct, the real and urgent needs of the businesses of Kambah Village and the real and urgent needs of the community that rely on the Kambah village for their day-to-day requirements.
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