Page 697 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
This significant funding and support to the ANU highlights the government’s commitment to arts and education, and our ongoing important partnerships with the ANU.
Thank you for bringing this petition to the attention of the ACT Government.
Motion to take note of petitions
MADAM SPEAKER: Pursuant to standing order 98A, I move:
That the petitions and response so lodged be noted.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (10.56): I was very pleased to sponsor petitions on behalf of almost 1,500 Canberra residents about trees. The petitions raise concerns that street and park trees in our established suburbs are declining by about 3,000 a year because the ACT government’s replanting program is simply inadequate. The last report on this issue from seven years ago showed that our streets and parks needed 40,000 trees to fill the gaps and replace dying trees. The petitioners want the ACT government to plant an extra 7,000 street trees and park trees a year to reverse this decline and begin restoring the city’s tree canopy.
The petitions have been supported by a really broad set of Canberra residents and a broad set of community groups. When I was looking through the paper petitions when they came to my office for tabling, I saw signatures from every part of Canberra: Tuggeranong, Belconnen, Woden Valley, Gungahlin, the inner north, the inner south—everywhere. I also know that it was circulated by a wide range of groups. It was passed around through the email lists of residents groups, it was passed around through quite a variety of people on Facebook and it was passed around at a number of meetings. One friend doorknocked her entire street and only had one person who did not sign, which I thought was very wonderful. Several environment groups put it in their newsletter. It was in the newsletter of the ACT chapter of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, and many individuals circulated it in a smaller way off their own bat.
Why are there so many people concerned about this? We know why. We are the bush capital. The government, a couple of years ago, did a survey as to what we wanted to have on our numberplates. We wanted to be called—because we have been and we want to continue to be—the bush capital. Given that we are the bush capital, people know that the older trees are under threat due to climate change, old age and redevelopment. They see quite clearly that action is required to stop the decline before it accelerates.
Secondly, people know how important trees are for keeping the city cool in the summer. For example, the difference between footpaths in the sun and in the shade can be well over 12 degrees. This benefit of trees is going to be even more important in the future as our climate gets hotter. Thirdly, people see trees as an important part of the character of our city. Right from the beginning, Canberra was planted as a garden city, with street trees, large tree-filled public parks and hills and ridges protected for nature. That is how we came to be our bush capital. The decline in our street trees and park trees is undermining our heritage.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video