Page 5432 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 16 November 2010
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Crace Estate—Landscape sketch design, dated 22 September 2010.
MR BARR: I think it is worth noting that the amount of public space in these suburbs is significantly greater than the amount of public space in many existing suburbs. In relation to Crace and Casey, we are talking about 25 per cent of the suburb being open space, and that compares with about seven per cent in Palmerston and six per cent in the suburb of Torrens.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Seselja, a supplementary question?
MR SESELJA: Minister, Gungahlin is currently struggling to service the number of junior sport participants in the area, with limited access to formal ovals. How will this policy change by your department assist in this problem for Gungahlin families?
MR BARR: The policy change relates to the provision of much more substantial district playing fields. Mr Seselja might be aware that the Harrison district playing fields have recently opened. In partnership with the commonwealth government, two new world-class synthetic facilities have opened in Nicholls. They are on the shared campus of Gold Creek and Holy Spirit schools. There is, of course, work underway on the Gungahlin enclosed oval and the Throsby district playing field.
Recognition of the needs of sport and recreation organisations and the capacity to run organised sport on weekends requires a number of fields to be co-located to maximise the benefit of volunteers’ time and the capacity to run organised sport and recreation competitions. We are focusing on district-level playing fields for organised sport and, within a suburban area, a community recreation, irrigated park that provides more than just an oval. It provides picnic spaces. It provides wetlands. It provides basketball courts, tennis courts and a range of other facilities that are valuable at a suburban level.
MR HARGREAVES: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hargreaves.
MR HARGREAVES: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Minister, is it not true that when you were considering the educational needs of Gungahlin, not long after you assumed the ministry, in fact, you raised the issue of the sporting fields and the sporting facilities in Gungahlin and that every bit needs to be folded into that consideration? Are we not talking about something which is a couple of years old now? Don’t you find it a bit rich for people to criticise you—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, please sit down.
MR HARGREAVES: who do not know where Gungahlin is?
Mr Smyth: On a point of order, Mr Speaker, it is clearly not—
MR SPEAKER: I have just sat Mr Hargreaves down, Mr Smyth.
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