Page 700 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 March 2021
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compliant with the guidelines and can be done safely. We have put in place a place coordinator who can work with community groups on the use of public land for planting trees, like they are doing in the micro forest at Downer and also a huge range of other community projects, including community gardens.
I encourage community groups that want to come forward to undertake that type of work on public space to get in touch with the place coordinator in TCCS. I know there are already some vibrant groups that are undertaking community garden work in Brindabella, and that includes at Kambah and at Erindale. I am happy if Mr Davis wants to get in touch with me directly and raise those issues.
MR DAVIS: Minister, as more Canberrans are making the choice to live up instead of spreading out—that is, to take advantage of the benefits of apartment living—what advice do you have to residents in medium and high-density living who wish to develop their own community garden?
MR STEEL: Of course they can do so if it is on private land, and that is a matter for them to manage with their body corporate. In relation to public land we certainly encourage them to look at the nature strip guidelines about what can be done on public land that is safe and does not interrupt utilities under the ground, whether that is a vegetable garden or something else—a compost heap that they want to support. We have been working with Capital Scraps to allow them to do composting on public land in the inner north, and there are a range of different groups that want to do a huge variety of different activities that will help with social connection in the community. And, of course, the place coordinator is the central space to go to if they have ideas and they want to work with the government to use open space more effectively and have more community groups utilising our fantastic parks.
MS CLAY: Hawker community members have approached me about creating community gardens near their local shops, and I would like to know how Hawker community members can access vacant government leased land near their community shops to create a community garden?
MR STEEL: In the same way that I have outlined in the previous answer.
Public housing—safety
MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services. Minister, I refer to the frightening state of affairs for terrified residents at a particular public housing complex in Canberra which I do not intend to name here today. The minister knows the complex that I am speaking of, and we did discuss this complex at recent hearings. Several residents recently approached me, indicating that very little has changed and that, while there are some security patrols, apparently patrol staff do not get out of their vehicles and it seems that the threatening environment has escalated. Minister, what will you do to quell the fears of residents who are living in constant stress at this particular complex?
MS VASSAROTTI: I thank Mr Parton for the question. Managing antisocial and illegal activity is a significant issue across our community that we need to deal with,
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