Page 841 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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Waramanga. It would be quite special to do that. I hope to get agreement for this today so that this proposal can come to fruition.
As I have said, we have heard some mixed messages from those opposite. It is important to put that on the table at the beginning of this debate so that when we are listening to what has been said by Ms Le Couteur and by the Labor Party we can really try to get to the nub of what is going to be agreed to today.
I will read from the submission. There have been lots of encouraging words from Ms Cody, Mr Steel and Ms Le Couteur as this has played out, which is sad. It is sad because I was actually hoping that we would get this done today. We have had Ms Le Couteur saying that she supports this and that she wants to see it done, but what we have seen is her step away from that.
As recently as yesterday Ms Le Couteur was circulating an amendment to me and to members of the community saying that the action in her amendment would be to work with the Waramanga community to progress the establishment of a new playground at Waramanga shops by the end of 2018. That is what she was saying as recently as yesterday—in writing. Again, she has stepped away from that.
That is disappointing but what we are hearing from the community is that Ms Le Couteur is two-faced. We have seen that this week in the debate about Mr Barr’s behaviour. We saw it with Ms Le Couteur in the debate about public housing in Weston Creek and Woden. We are seeing it again here today. I fear that what we are going to get out of this is just platitudes, just weasel words and a very long amendment from Ms Le Couteur—much ado about nothing. Fundamentally, what we are calling for here today is a new playground at Waramanga. Let us get it done. All we are getting in response is weasel words trying to create an illusion that we are moving this forward. We will see how this debate turns out.
I turn to the submission, Mr Assistant Speaker, which I hope you have read. I am sure you have; you are quoted in it. The submission talks about some key principles and I agree with those. I will quote extensively from the submission because, as I said, it is a good submission.
Why is this proposal coming forward? It is about:
1. Tackling childhood obesity by getting kids active
2. Backing local small businesses located at the Waramanga Shops
3. Building community cohesion and a community hub for people to connect
4. Supporting cognitive and social development
5. Confronting post-natal depression
6. Supporting inclusivity and family wellbeing
They are very noble objectives. They are ones that we support. Based on the words that I have heard from Ms Cody, Mr Steel, Ms Le Couteur and others, they are ones that they support. The community has put forward a great submission. There is a great desire to get this done. When it comes into this place, it all turns to water because, sadly, the words that you are prepared to say to the community are very different from the actions you are prepared to take in here.
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