Page 246 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 15 February 2012
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where there is lots of run-off—the use of chemicals, the use of fertiliser. We do know that. That is the problem: we cannot just shrug our shoulders and say, “That is how it is.” I think at the Tuggeranong Community Council meeting the residents there were clearly saying, “It’s not good enough and let’s fix it.” They are going to do their bit. I think it is up to us as politicians to make sure we do our bit for that community.
The lake was meant to be the centrepiece of the Tuggeranong town centre—indeed, there is a master plan for it—so perhaps it is time for the government to look at its commitment to Tuggeranong through some of the plans that it has, through some of the planning activity that it has underway, so that we make sure that we get it right; that we do build a better town centre and better community and that we make it a better place for people to live. With that I would ask members to support my motion.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (7.45): I thank Mr Smyth for bringing on this motion today. Firstly, I will go to the issue of Lake Tuggeranong. The Greens have identified the health and the state of Canberra’s lakes as an issue and a key problem we have to address in Canberra. This includes Lake Tuggeranong. Last year the Greens moved a motion in the Assembly which established an environment commissioner inquiry into Canberra’s lakes. We are looking forward to the outcomes of that inquiry. I have circulated an amendment that I will move later.
The amendment acknowledges that this is happening, because I think the recommendations and the outcomes that come out of that inquiry will be key in terms of how we achieve a long-term solution to dealing with problems with the lakes, not just short-term solutions such as clean-ups and the like, but actually something that will resolve long-term issues for the health of those lakes. It is a major issue with Lake Tuggeranong. Obviously, this has been identified in the media just recently by the president of the Tuggeranong Community Council, Darryl Johnston. The problem includes large items such as abandoned trolleys.
Every year I know that on Clean Up Australia Day a number of trolleys are pulled from the lake. I remember actually last year in the Canberra Times there was a picture of a trolley in Lake Tuggeranong. So it is an issue. I know it is an issue in other areas as well, but it is something that has been occurring there. I add in respect of shopping trolleys that the issue I have described at Lake Tuggeranong is why Ms Le Couteur introduced and had passed legislation on shopping trolleys. This is one of the issues that we received a lot of constituent concerns about. I mention the photo in the Canberra Times as well.
I hope that we start to see a more thorough implementation of this legislation soon because it is a key issue. I actually had someone contact me on Facebook last night about it. They made this point:
As someone who likes to take a lunchtime walk around the lakeshore, I have been concerned at the problems the lake has from the up to 40 shopping trolleys that I have seen dumped into the lake to the severe eutrophication evidenced by algal blooms in the recent warm dry weather.
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