Page 3451 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018
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lifting of trees, servicing of bins, daily cleaning of toilets, pressure cleaning of paving as required, removal of graffiti from government assets, repairs to damaged street furniture, minor horticultural maintenance of garden beds, and removal of leaves during autumn; and
(d) regular cleaning activities occur in public areas of all local shopping centres in Canberra with service levels dictated by usage levels. The city and other high usage areas such as town and group centres are cleaned daily, while local shops are cleaned at least twice a week, depending on size and usage. Public toilets at these locations are cleaned daily;
(2) further notes that:
(a) in September 2017, the ACT Government launched the Better Suburbs program to engage with the community and set a vision and priorities for improved delivery of city services for the next four years and up to 2030, in the form of a Better Suburbs Statement which will be released in September 2018; and
(b) survey results from the Better Suburbs program showed that satisfaction with services for shopping precincts was highest in the central district of Canberra at 75 percent, with an average of 72 percent across all Canberra districts; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) publish the details of regular maintenance of local shops online; and
(b) consider options for the delivery and operation of public toilets in new local centres, which could include partnerships with private and non-government organisations to provide publicly available toilets with local businesses to maintain.”.
I will speak to the amendment. I also note that a question recently lodged by Ms Lee bears quite a striking resemblance to this motion. The response to that question on notice will be published in the very near future. But in the meantime I am happy to highlight many of the issues that were raised in that question, the answer to which will be published shortly.
I can assure Ms Lee and the Canberra community that we are deeply committed to improving public spaces at local shopping centres and, indeed, in neighbourhoods right across the territory. We want to keep them safe, functional and accessible as well as enhance their vitality as community and neighbourhood spaces.
Local shops are indeed important community hubs and can stimulate social and commercial activity by providing convenient, up-to-date services and many local job opportunities. Upgrade of these assets and spaces has the potential to encourage people to visit their local shops more often and for longer. But this potential can be increased when the upgrade acts as a catalyst for local community and business co-contributions and all of this willingness is channelled into the design in a coordinated, holistic way.
Indeed, our most recent example, spoken about just during question time, was the government’s investment in the Giralang shops. Madam Speaker, you will be pleased to learn that there are many, many more investments just like this happening right
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