Page 3434 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 17 August 2011
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the Assembly. We collected about 600 signatures at the time asking for urgent attention to the parking problem that existed then as well as associated issues, such as the safety of the individuals who needed to cross very busy parking areas and the fact that there were no bollards to slow cars down. There was a lot of speeding and no marked pedestrian crossings. I recall Mr Hargreaves saying to me that even if I had 6,000 signatures it would not rate highly on his level of concern. I found that quite interesting. It was in an election year when 600 residents were very angry. It probably had a little bit of impact on the number of constituents who supported Mr Hargreaves at that point. But the point is that this is an ongoing issue that has existed for quite a while.
Calwell has roughly 100 fewer parking spaces than similar sized group centres and only five disability parking spaces. The problem of lack of parking has been exacerbated also by a very successful medical centre, which the Chief Minister, in fact, came down to Tuggeranong to open. I think I remember seeing the previous Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, in Tuggeranong on one, maybe two, occasions in 10 years.
Ms Gallagher: Grow up, Doszy.
MR DOSZPOT: I am actually complimenting you, Chief Minister, that you have come down to Tuggeranong in the very first—
Ms Gallagher: It’s just nasty. It’s not about me.
MR DOSZPOT: Well, you visited Tuggeranong, so I am trying to compliment you. What I was going to say is that that medical centre that the Chief Minister so kindly opened up now puts additional burden on the lack of parking we have in Calwell and it will further disadvantage people who are looking for parking spaces, and that is not to mention the ones who are looking for disabled parking spaces, which are at a premium.
Nearby Erindale has been in the news a fair bit lately. We presented a petition this morning with 3,770 signatures. Mr Hargreaves, that is a bit more than the 600 I had last time, but obviously still not as many as the 6,000 you mentioned. I am not sure if that will impact negatively on our constituency, but I certainly hope that people will listen to the views of 3,700-odd people. The lack of car parking in Erindale is of major concern. Of course, it is exacerbated when it is linked to the proposed bus interchange and additional housing that is planned without any sensible solution to the current car parking problem, let alone the longer term car parking problem that will occur should a park and ride go in.
I am actually quite in favour of a park and ride and I think that it will be good for the community, but not if it is not planned correctly. I have to say that the planning and the consultation that were carried out were absolutely abysmal. The headmaster of a local school, Trinity Christian school, came to one of the consultation meetings that we had, but it was not really a consultation meeting; it was just telling the community what was planned by the minister and ACTPLA. The headmaster, much to his consternation, found that his school was the site of a number of medium-density houses to be built, which was quite interesting. Furthermore, when the school tried to
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