Page 2283 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019

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connections with our family members, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbours and others around us. In small and simple ways we can be the cheer and comfort someone needs.

Budget—Kurrajong electorate

MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Disability, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety, Minister for Government Services and Procurement, Minister for Urban Renewal) (5.37): I rise to speak about the 2019-20 ACT budget’s investment in my electorate of Kurrajong. This year’s budget makes the investment we need to keep Canberra livable and protect our city’s unique character. This budget invests in Kurrajong’s unique character and ensures that current and future generations get to experience and celebrate it.

The Manuka Pool has been at the centre of summers in Canberra since 1931. Generations of Canberrans have sought relief from our hot, dry summers in the iconic Art Deco pool. Manuka Pool also brings together families and groups of friends to catch up on the pool’s shady lawns. Recognising the importance of the pool to the inner south community, the ACT government will upgrade Manuka Pool through the 2019-20 budget. This $800,000 investment will increase accessibility and safety while protecting the heritage character of our oldest community pool. While the buildings and infrastructure are wonderful examples of past architecture and building styles, they were not really built with accessibility in mind. I am looking forward to a Manuka Pool with its heritage intact, where more people can enjoy it in the summers ahead.

The inner south is a great place to raise a family and to be a kid. Recognising the need to refresh and upgrade playgrounds and play spaces in the inner south, the budget also invests in an upgraded playground for Narrabundah. The budget invests in improvements to dog parks and local ovals, with Yarralumla and Narrabundah to receive upgrades through the better infrastructure fund. This means local parks and playgrounds will continue to be important meeting spaces for locals and continue to build the strong community Canberrans know and love.

The budget is also making the inner south safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The budget invests particularly in improvements to the Kent Street and Novar Street intersection, which will benefit the residents of Yarralumla and Deakin. This is something that they have advocated for for some time, and I commend the Yarralumla Residents Association on its strong advocacy on this matter.

Scoping work will also be undertaken on improving the Hume Circle roundabout in Narrabundah. If people are not familiar with the name, that is the roundabout where Canberra Avenue, Wentworth Avenue and Sturt Avenue come together. It has a very high crash rate, I understand.

Older suburbs were built to the standards of their time. This means footpaths and other pedestrian infrastructure are not always up to the same standards we see in newer suburbs or town centres. The ACT government is investing in upgrades to


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