Page 2065 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 15 May 2013

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not here to say that nothing has been done; I am here to shed light on something that is irritating members of the community. If there are, indeed, 13 sites needing to be redeveloped and there are, from my estimate, around 115 suburbs in Canberra, the matter of the future development of these sites is in fact directly relevant to the daily lives of around 10 per cent of the population. Over 40,000 Canberrans live with the eyesore of these sites every morning and every evening at least.

I hope that there will be a stronger emphasis on policy around these areas. For example, Narrabundah resident Ria Warke, who has owned the nearby Dollworks store for more than 20 years, says she cannot believe the site is still vacant. “I look at this every day, along with the rest of the community, and I think it is just an eyesore,” she said, as reported in the Chronicle yesterday.

Given the depressing sight that these blocks create and the impact on good, hardworking ratepayers’ lives, I think the minister should keep bringing information to the Assembly about what is going on. Obviously I would prefer that my original motion be agreed to by the Assembly, so we will not be supporting the amendment.

However, I also ask that the minister consider upkeep of the construction fences and the cutting of the grass. At the Watson site in particular, I believe more than 30 per cent of the site is covered in rubbish, given that there are containers and baskets full of rocks on the site. At the Narrabundah site there is a mattress and several broken chairs. I urge the minister to find out if there is something that he can do to have those sites checked again. The Narrabundah site has a fence that is bent and broken. I would like to see a website with some time frames—a linear depiction of where each of these sites is up to. I will continue to shed light on this issue.

In summation, these sites affect good people every day. There is no point in planning a grand scheme to flog off the land from Civic to the lake and put on public display beautiful pictures of how happy life will be for the residents of this great city when the government do not place as high a priority as they could on the daily walks and views of people in the suburbs. What good, indeed, is city to the lake? Where is the minister’s plan for front door to the bus stop? How about the front door to the local shop? How about a plan like from home to school? The government do not have the focus quite right and we will keep reminding them of this for the next several years, I am sure.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Planning—Calwell

MR WALL (Brindabella) (4.53): I move:

That this Assembly:

(1) notes:


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