Page 886 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 March 2016
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In conclusion, the ACT recognises the importance of our rural villages such as Tharwa and the role they play in portraying the history of the capital and the region. It is the ACT government’s aim to protect these areas from overdevelopment in order to respect their significance and to preserve their beauty and charm for many generations to come.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.32): I thank Mr Wall for moving this motion today. Tharwa is a very engaged community. Certainly when I was the minister for TAMS I got plenty of feedback from the residents of Tharwa about issues of concern. We worked with them on a range of issues such as protecting the river corridor and problems of hooning behaviour, litter removal and the like. There are certainly some issues for Tharwa. It is always encouraging to see people who really are engaged in looking after their community.
Certainly the Greens have held a strong interest in Tharwa and other rural villages over a number of years now. Indeed, following the 2008 parliamentary agreement, the convenor of the Greens at the time, Meredith Hunter, wrote to Minister Barr, the then planning minister, to propose a master plan for Tharwa. I will quote some sections of the speech she gave in this place in April 2009:
In the lead-up to the 2013 Centenary of Canberra celebrations it should be noted that many of the villages that now form part of the ACT were in existence well before the birth of Canberra in 1913. Families from these villages of Hall, Tharwa, Pialligo, Stromlo and Uriarra, and the villages themselves, became a vital part of the new Canberra … In 1862 Tharwa, where the road to Kiandra crossed the Murrumbidgee, became the first place within the present boundaries of the ACT to be proclaimed a township. There are many of us in this place who can remember great family outings spent travelling to the rural villages within the territory, having picnics and visiting arts and craft shops … These villages are being left behind because a large part of our planning and policy framework for development in the ACT focuses on the urban areas of the city and leaves little room for villages.
A strategic plan developed in consultation with the enthusiastic village community groups, who often make sound representations to members in this place about issues affecting the future of their communities, would go a long way to re-establishing the link from urban to rural areas, contribute to the financial viability of the rural villages and ensure that money spent by local and interstate visitors remains in the ACT … However, ACT rural villages in the region continue to struggle to survive. In Tharwa, for example, the village is still feeling the impact of the bridge and school closure. In addition, the famous Cuppacumbalong craft centre and adjacent craft shops are closed, and what was a scenic tourist drive incorporating a number of the area’s attractions is no longer popular. Now that the bridge is open again, the community may be able to attract more visitors down to Tharwa and catch people on their way to Namadgi national park.
Those were Ms Hunter’s words in 2009. Looking forward to today, it is very pleasing to see that the Environment and Planning Directorate is currently preparing a village plan for Tharwa. The purpose of the planning study is to investigate the locally-based
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