Page 2752 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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I am going to move to a slightly harder issue but one that nonetheless needs work—lighting in the city and other places. I was pleased to see the government’s response to the estimates report is examining how much it would cost to bring all of Civic up to current lighting standards in order to meet the government’s commitment to action 13 of the ACT Government Climate Change Action Plan. I was quite disturbed to find that the current funding will lead to only 35 per cent of the city’s area meeting current safety standards. These standards are aimed at assisting crime prevention and public safety, and this really does not seem a very tenable situation to put Canberra citygoers in.
Again, the small amount of funding for community paths is pleasing but it is disappointing to see how far this funding does not go. There are huge tracts of community paths across Canberra which are either significantly under-lit or not lit at all and particularly for bike riders in the winter, when if you are going home by bike after work you are going home in the dark, it is a significant impediment. The lack of adequate lighting is a significant impediment for people who want to walk home or use public transport.
The next thing I would like to talk about is the RSPCA. Government funding for RSPCA does not appear to be adequate to cope with the demand for their services. The government, I understand, is in some discussion with the RSPCA but the discussion has not reached a positive outcome and the RSPCA is struggling. From the questions that we asked of the RSPCA it seems clear that this is likely to end up with the number of euthanased animals in the ACT increasing. That is very concerning. The other thing that is concerning is that the RSPCA clearly needs new premises. Apart from anything else, north Weston is encroaching and the government has still declined to commit to any site or any money for these and this is becoming more and more urgent.
While we are still on the animal issue, where is our cat containment policy at? I understand the government is doing survey work—and this is surveying people, I should point out; it is not surveying cats or wildlife—to determine what its policy should be, but I think it is a little bit disturbing to find out that the policy is determined by the surveys of people not by an ecological basis. That seems to be how, unfortunately, the Labor Party is doing policy development process. It is a method of policy development which I think most people would agree needs to be improved.
In summary TAMS has good and bad, and I look forward to next year. Hopefully there will be more good—more sustainable transport, one of my passions—and less bad.
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra) (10.16): I would like to congratulate the government on an important but small initiative. It is an exciting initiative for small people—I refer to the $1.2 million that has been allocated for play space renewals. I would like to particularly talk about the Ashburton Circuit playground in Kaleen, in my electorate. After consultation with local residents and schools, Mr Corbell listened to the community on what they would like to see in these play spaces. What they have put in there are some fantastic things, and I just want to share them with the Assembly for a few minutes. The most exciting thing, I think, is the speed gyro—a small wheeled
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