Page 3472 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018

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renewing the Dickson group centre. We look forward to a continuation of that investment, and particularly to seeing the range of new businesses that are establishing in what will be a really integral part of the inner north of the city. Dickson has always been a major group centre with significant levels of patronage, but we are going to see more people utilising that centre as more people live close to the transport hubs and the employment hubs. It is great to see some ACT government-sponsored projects in the Dickson area coming to fruition.

As we move south into the city renewal precinct, Haig Park has been an area where there is great community interest and a lot of excitement about the opportunity to make that a better and more usable public space. I have been delighted with the engagement from key stakeholders right across the community, particularly businesses at the northern end of the Braddon precinct, wanting to engage and run events and activities in Haig Park. It is great to see that ACT government investments in improving lighting, widening footpaths and the like have made the park safer for the thousands of residents who live in and around Braddon, but we look forward to seeing further improvements in access and facilities at Haig Park.

In the city centre, as I have mentioned, there are a number of projects and programs underway to improve facilities, to run more events and to have more activity. It is great to see more people living in the CBD, and we want that trend to continue. Of course, down at West Basin, with the opening of Henry Rolland Park, we look forward to delivering further stages of that public infrastructure, a great new public park for Canberra, the first time in living memory that a car park has been turned into a public park. I thank Mr Pettersson for bringing the motion forward this afternoon to give me the opportunity to talk about matters in the Kurrajong electorate.

MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Women and Minister for Sport and Recreation) (5.17): I take the opportunity to talk to the motion that Mr Pettersson has brought to the Assembly today, calling on the Assembly to support the progressive and principled policies in this year’s budget. I rise to speak to a few of those today.

To start with, I will just touch on a few important points about the work in my electorate of Ginninderra and our continued priorities in the education space, as well as how we are continuing to support women and families who are experiencing domestic and family and intimate partner violence.

In my own electorate, the government has invested in some great initiatives for our community. The Higgins oval will receive $1.85 million of additional investment for restoration, for use by local sporting organisations and the community. This investment will go to providing new turf, new irrigation, sports lights, two combination football fields and a synthetic cricket pitch, with a pavilion and a toilet block to come later.

The government have invested in delivering on our election commitment to duplicate William Slim Drive from Ginninderra Drive to the Barton Highway, which will


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