Page 4225 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 21 September 2010
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TAMS is also currently developing a strategic planning document—“Play spaces in the ACT: a strategic plan”—in order to improve the delivery and management of playground assets to better meet the changing needs for public play in the ACT. The plan will incorporate the whole-of-government commitment to build a child-friendly city. The office of children and young people will provide input into the best ways to engage with children and young people in future play space consultations.
Another demonstration of the government’s genuine commitment to consult with young people was the design of the Edison Park youth recreation facility. Meetings with community stakeholders, including young people, were held with the design team. The main outcomes of these gatherings were the selection of an appropriate site for the youth plaza and a long list of what it could include. In order to engage children and young people, TAMS created a blog for the project and posted the list of requests coming out of the park consultation online.
TAMS again consulted with young people in the skating community regarding the design of an enhanced Belconnen skate park. Consultation with young people is also underway for a $250,000 teenage play area in Belconnen. A consultation session was held this month on site and colleges and community councils were invited to participate.
Children and young people are our future and we are actively talking with them through the “time to talk” programs. “Time to talk” provides an opportunity for children and young people to provide their perspectives on the future look of Canberra and to have their aspirations for the future of Canberra recorded. A number of mediums are being used to encourage young people to participate in the project, recognising it is their future we are planning. I encourage all children and young people to get involved and to have a say about the future of the city.
A key measure of success of the government’s engagement with children and young people is true participation. This involves listening to what children and young people have to say, actioning their ideas, supporting children and young people and truly valuing them as equal members of our society. The ACT government recognises the importance of consulting with children and young people in our community. As Minister for Children and Young People, I am committed to this. I thank the children and young people of the ACT for their active participation, interest and engagement in the ongoing development of the ACT community.
As I have mentioned, there are two plans—the young people’s plan and the children’s plan—which have been dedicated to providing opportunities for their input. They have been driven by their comments to us and both are being implemented. As we speak, there is a task force overseeing the implementation of the young people’s plan and, similarly, one for the children’s plan. Again, I thank Ms Le Couteur for bringing this MPI to the Assembly. Sometimes we may seem, as a government, to go over the interests of children, but rest assured that this government has set structures in place across the whole of government to ensure that children and young people have a voice into this government. We are a government that listens to that voice.
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