Page 775 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video


significantly adding to the local economy, extending the hours of activity through its major areas, and increasing potential opportunities for restaurants and retail outlets. These state-of-the-art facilities are set to attract further tourism and investment to the region.

Canberra’s aquatic centre, including the water park and outdoor recreational area, will feature urban beaches and enable a far greater level of recreational use by providing pedestrian and cyclist access along boardwalks linking the entire waterfront. This development will offer residents and visitors a range of cafes and restaurants as well as scenic, family-friendly picnic areas.

All sites are within the central national area of the national capital, within close proximity to the centre of the Australian government and its major policy departments. City to the lake encourages a stronger connection between our national, cultural and educational institutions, such as the National Museum of Australia and the Australian National University. Key infrastructure will be put in place to realign roads connecting the lake and its parklands, unlocking some of the most prestigious sites for development.

Through implementation of projects like the ABC flats redevelopment and city to the lake, the city plan provides developers, government and the community with an exciting future for the city centre.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (3.46): I thank Dr Bourke for bringing this matter of public importance to the Assembly today.

It is important that we continue to envisage a vibrant, dynamic and prosperous future for our city centre—a future that recognises its role as a place of local, regional and, indeed, national significance. The city plan, which the Chief Minister launched last week, will bring new life and impetus to the city for the benefit of all Canberrans as well as for visitors.

For the first time we have an overarching document that sets the future for the whole of the city centre. It will provide developers, government and the community with a clear vision for the future of the centre, how it will look and how it will develop and change over time. It is a document that has already been well received by stakeholders, including property owners, the broader community, community organisations and individual citizens.

The plan is a framework for development in the city centre that will see more people living in the city, less through-traffic, better connections both within the city and to the lake, and the capacity for more vibrant places and better amenity.

In October last year the Chief Minister and I opened consultation on the draft city plan. More than 7,000 interactions with the proposed plan were recorded across a range of consultation and engagement activities, including open-house sessions, websites,


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video