Page 546 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 21 February 2018

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MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (5.37): In responding to the government’s proposed amendments, I wish to give some background. In April 2015 I wrote to my local member, Mary Porter MLA, to express my concerns about the intersection of Tillyard and Ginninderra drives. In my email I noted that a car crash had occurred at this intersection on 21 April and that at least four others had taken place in the previous four months.

In response, Ms Porter sent a representation letter to Mr Rattenbury on 20 May 2015 asking the then Minister for Territory and Municipal Services to respond to my concerns. I have a copy of this representation letter that was emailed to me on the same day. One week later, on 27 May 2015, I emailed Ms Porter again to let her know that another car crash had occurred at this intersection. Ms Porter’s office responded that this update had also been provided to Mr Rattenbury’s office.

On 9 June 2015 I emailed Ms Porter once again to report another car crash at this intersection, which had occurred the previous day. Ms Porter’s office responded six days later, noting that this information had again been passed on to Mr Rattenbury and that this time my actual email had been forwarded to his office as well.

On 8 July 2015 I again emailed Ms Porter’s office to report another car crash at this intersection the previous night. In this email I asked Ms Porter why I had not yet received a response from this minister. Ms Porter’s office responded that same day. I was told that Ms Porter had received a response from Mr Rattenbury. I am now quoting from the email:

However, Ms Porter was not satisfied with the response so we have requested that it was to be re-done.

As a side note, if Ms Porter was personally not satisfied with Mr Rattenbury’s response, I strongly suspect I would not have been satisfied with it either. And that was the end of that. I never received any other communication on this topic from Ms Porter’s office and I never received a response from Mr Rattenbury, either directly or through Ms Porter.

As a concerned resident of Charnwood who daily faced a hazard of navigating through the intersection of Tillyard and Ginninderra drives, usually having my children in the car with me, I had reported no fewer than eight car crashes in the space of eight months. And what was the response from the Labor-Greens government? Empty promises and endless delays, followed by complete silence.

I moved this motion today because the residents of west Belconnen are tired of the run-around. In November’s annual reports hearings I specifically asked Minister Fitzharris for an update on the promised feasibility study for the intersection of Tillyard and Ginninderra drives. Referring to AECOM—and AECOM produced a traffic management report for the rest of Tillyard Drive—she said:

It has all become one and the same.


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