Page 2918 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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what can be done. I do not design where the long-jump pits go on ovals. I do not design where the athletics tracks go on ovals, and I do not make decisions around ground hire and who gets to utilise facilities. That is not something that is made at a ministerial level.
However, I am happy to facilitate, through sport and recreation services, a further meeting to see what possibilities there are around the use of a football pitch within the athletics track perimeter in the winter season and whether that is at all possible. If only to put Mr Doszpot’s mind at rest on that particular issue, I am happy to further facilitate work in that area.
In relation to overall upgrades across the city, if we start in the south and make our way north, in the last two or three years we have seen 6.9 hectares in Gordon linked to non-potable water supplies as part of the “where will we play?” initiative. There are also upgrades, as I think Mr Doszpot alluded to, in this year’s budget to ovals at Isabella Plains. There has been further work in terms of irrigation systems and grass conversion to couch throughout the Tuggeranong valley.
We move to Woden and Weston Creek. Associated with a number of school capital upgrades, there has been work undertaken on the playing fields in each of those areas. We then go to Phillip oval in Woden. That has received a multimillion dollar upgrade to ensure both AFL and cricket usage at a first-class standard for ACT competitions.
We then move to the inner north. Members would be aware of the significant upgrade project that is currently underway at the Southwell Park precinct in Lyneham. That has seen a significant expansion in a number of ovals and a significant expansion in the amount of lighting that is available within that precinct to facilitate a more fulsome use of that enhanced facility. The old lights from the Lyneham facility have been relocated to other playing fields in north Canberra, most particularly to Downer, to facilitate night-time usage of those ovals.
We then go to Gungahlin. Harrison, Ngunnawal, Nicholls and Bonner have all received significant increases in playing field capacity, through district and neighbourhood level ovals, some of which have been synthetic facilities delivered in partnership with the commonwealth government under the local schools working together initiative. That is particularly the case at Nicholls, Gold Creek and Holy Spirit. There is funding in this year’s budget for restoration of ovals at Charnwood and the Kippax district playing fields.
Across every region of Canberra, there has been a combination of synthetic playing fields, new synthetic playing fields, couch conversion, irrigation replacement and new ovals to meet demand. Existing facilities have been expanded. New lighting has been provided at a range of ovals across the territory, the details of which have been made available publicly on numerous occasions. So it is a comprehensive policy of investment in community sporting infrastructure.
In addition to that, of course, there is forward planning for new infrastructure in the growing parts of Gungahlin, most particularly in Throsby but also in Casey and Crace. There has been work on the newly emerging communities within the Molonglo
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