Page 516 - Week 02 - Thursday, 11 February 2021
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As a growing region, there are a significant number of new infrastructure projects that are already underway in the Molonglo region, but there will be more in the future. Having a representative stakeholder voice of the community will be a really important part of providing feedback on those projects, which will include significant consultation. That is not limited to the estate development plans for new and emerging suburbs in the Molonglo area—and the parks and playgrounds and so forth—but also includes feedback on major infrastructure projects. The finalisation of the design of the new bridge is well underway. That bridge will take John Gorton Drive across the Molonglo River. It will include an extension of John Gorton Drive as well, which will provide new access points into the new Molonglo commercial centre. Planning and design is well underway for the Molonglo commercial centre and the parliamentary and governing agreement also stipulates that this will be a fully electric commercial centre, with no connections to the gas mains network.
These are major projects that are occurring in Molonglo, and the Molonglo community should have a voice directly into those. The government will also deliver a new walk-in health centre to the Molonglo Valley between 2021 and 2022. The popularity of the centre in Weston Creek is already apparent, and having community input on future health services from a new Molonglo community council will be important to ensure that we are delivering the services that the community needs, which may be different to other areas of Canberra. A new public primary school in Molonglo has recently been finalised, with a collocated high school to open from 2023, and future schools are planned for the area. It will be important to have a community voice in those, as well. A new emergency services station is on track to be built in the Molonglo Valley, which, of course, will house ACT Ambulance Services as well as ACT Fire & Rescue crews and will help us to improve response times in the region.
I have recently taken on responsibility for Stromlo Forest Park, which is a real jewel in the heart of the Molonglo Valley. We have been having some early discussions about the future of that and how we can meet the needs of our cyclist community and the broader community. We are keen to have those discussions with the new Molonglo community council as well. In the chamber today, we have been discussing public transport in the new and emerging suburbs of the Molonglo Valley to make sure that they have access as soon as possible, particularly in areas like Whitlam and future suburbs north of the Molonglo River. We are keen to work with them to analyse the data on how transport is being used, and work with them to plan for future transport services. Of course, that includes light rail, with the bridge design taking that into account as well.
A new library and community centre will be provided for the residents of the Molonglo Valley—a commitment that we provided at the election. We know how important the benefits of libraries are to building community, with lifelong learning programs, supporting literacy in the community, providing support for different age groups including the elderly, offering opportunities and access to technology, promoting the diversity of our community and also providing meeting spaces for the community. The government is committed to engaging in a co-design process on the design and location of the library and community centre, which will be a really deep
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