Page 3394 - Week 09 - Thursday, 24 August 2017
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I would like to talk about a few city services budgets items in Murrumbidgee. One of the issues the budget addresses is the problem of city services in new suburbs. There has been a gap in the handover from the LDA or the other developers to TCCS. This has particularly been a problem in my electorate in the suburb of Coombs. The budget has $5.2 million over four years to fix this. This is not just an issue in Coombs; it has been an ongoing issue. I have heard from a number of developers about how they have been constrained in what they deliver for the new residents. They have said they could deliver a high quality public open space but TCCS has said to them, “Our budget is X, Y and Z and therefore we are not prepared to take on anything which could potentially increase the maintenance budget.”
This is also a significant issue in terms of planning. What size roadside verges do we have? Are they big enough for trees, for instance? TCCS has a big say in this where the main thing seems to be making sure there is enough space for the garbage trucks to get in. While that is important it should not be one of the major determinants of how our multi-unit developments are built—I am told it is—or how our roads are laid out. Again, I have been told it is.
A really good news story is Woden Library. I am very pleased there is funding for the heritage library to move to Fyshwick. Undoubtedly it needs more space, and this will give more space in the Woden Library, which I have been told is the most used library in the ACT. It will be great to have the meeting spaces upstairs which we used to have a, long time ago and which we have all been missing.
I will briefly move on to one of the things where I have a real concern about the city services budget: trees. Trees are highly valued by the Canberra community because we all know they are very good things for us. First off, of course, they look really nice. It is calming and it is good for our souls to spend time in the natural environment and to see trees. But also they are very good for ameliorating urban temperatures in the summer and reducing the heat island effect. As climate change increases, trees are going to become more and more important to us.
It is not just from a temperature point of view; it is also reducing wind speeds. I used to live in Downer and I have done a lot of letterboxing in Gungahlin. I would go out to Gungahlin and I would say, “It is a really windy day.” I would come back to Downer—I am talking about moving four or five kilometres—and it was not windy there. That is because Downer has trees and the newer areas of Gungahlin do not.
Mr Coe: Were you inside?
MS LE COUTEUR: No, outside. It was noticeably different. Downer is blessed with beautifully treed streets. It really makes a difference. I have been shocked at the difference between the two. So that is part of the ecological value. Trees, of course, are places where animals and insects live. If we want to have biodiversity in our city—and hopefully we all do—trees need to be part of it. It is part of our feel as a bush capital to have trees. For some of the inner areas of Canberra which have been laid out with beautiful deciduous trees, it is part of the formal majesty and formal beauty of our city. Of course, trees have a measurable economic value in terms of higher property values and lower summer heating costs.
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