Page 184 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 11 February 2015
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Not knowing quite how many parks he looks after is one matter; that they are being looked after is fair enough, and I do agree. And if we are going to talk about Boundless and parking across the way, let me inform the minister that all week the car park at Russell offices is totally full. All week there are people going to Boundless and the car park at Boundless is also totally full, and people are parking on the grass.
It actually fills me with anxiety to imagine crossing six lanes of traffic, whether there are lights or not, with––
Mr Rattenbury: There are not six lanes of traffic; it is a bridge.
MRS JONES: Yes, there are. There are turning lanes in both directions and you would have to cross six individual lanes—
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Lawder): Mrs Jones, address your remarks through the chair.
MRS JONES: to get across to that park. And if the other option is to go under the road, to walk a significant distance around the park with small babies and toddlers is actually really difficult. It is a very anxious matter.
The Boundless park was also designed for children with health concerns, with developmental delays—children who are harder to manage in many cases and whose parents are frazzled. I think the park is fantastic. I have been there many times. It is the only fully fenced park, apart from a couple of major older ones, that I have known in Canberra. It is so popular because it is a fenced park. I have raised in the Assembly that fully fenced parks are really helpful for parents, and I am really glad to see that there has been another one built.
I am simply raising the point that the parking is not adequate, and any decisions that have been made that assert that parking at Russell offices is good enough actually are not realistic. I am just putting that out there for the minister.
Can I recommend that the minister spend some time sitting in some of the local playgrounds observing children and observing the stress that parents go through in managing their children. Nobody, as I said, is complaining that safety is not checked. I think the department does a fantastic job in that regard, but I think that the minister in this case has been shown up as not quite knowing what is going on.
He mentioned that three playgrounds were identified in the process that identified Rocky Knob. Where are the other two playgrounds and are they planned to be closed as well? That is a question that I would love to have answered. I would love to help the minister to understand this area better. I have said before that I will go with the minister to a park, or invite the minister to a park. I do not intend to embarrass him. I really would like him to understand better how a huge chunk of people in the electorate live their lives. And I will continue to offer to go with the minister.
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