Page 4024 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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thought they could have a far more dynamic approach to updating the schedule than three-and-a-bit years. I think it is important that other suburbs that are not currently listed at least get put on that schedule so that there is some confidence and certainty about what they are getting for their rates.
As I mentioned earlier today, the lack of urban services being delivered in Mitchell is very much a real issue. I do not think it is just a perception; I think it is a real issue. The fact that street sweeping for Mitchell is not on the schedule is problematic. The following answer was given to a question on notice:
Suburbs not currently listed on the street sweeping schedule are included in the program, except for Wright, Coombs, Fyshwick and Mitchell which are swept upon request. Construction of Taylor and Throsby is not yet completed.
The street sweeping budget for 2016-17 was $1.8 million and the actual expenditure was $1.17 million. So there was a $600,000 saving, and I wonder how they actually achieved that and what the reason was for that saving. Did they do less or were they just particularly efficient in going around the suburbs?
Another part of the urban services portfolio that I want to touch on is fix my street, which is part of Access Canberra. According to the answer to question on notice No 246, there is an average of four days to respond to requests and an average of eight days to close a fix my street request. However, there are certainly people that wait for many months. I realise very broad requests can be put through and, to that end, some of them do take a considerable amount of time to fulfil.
I note that the most popular fix my street submissions, as of May this year, included trees and shrubs, almost 7,000; streetlights, just over 5,000; litter and illegal dumping, almost 2,000; potholes, about 1,500; and footpaths, a similar number. When you combine all the road-related categories—that is, potholes, roads, road signs and road safety—you get in the vicinity of 4½ thousand. I also note that there were 577 complaints about election signage, for which we can all take our share of responsibility.
With regard to data collection capabilities, I note that the minister has advised there is a new strategy to improve data collection, and part of that is a new “offensive” subcategory for graffiti. I think that is a good development, especially in response to the swastika we saw in Giralang a month ago or thereabouts. That “offensive” subcategory will certainly help to prioritise those sorts of issues.
The final issue I will touch on, noting that a few people want to speak on this issue, is footpaths. In Mr Doszpot’s absence, I should make mention of the residents of Campbell, who have been without footpaths for many decades—pretty much since the mid-50s, when the suburb was gazetted. There are many people, including my parents-in law—just to declare that—who would dearly love a footpath out the front of their house.
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