Page 1295 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
(g) designate a single point of contact within ACT Government with responsibility for whole-of-government outcomes for Gungahlin; and
(h) develop and publish a strategy to actively encourage employment in the Gungahlin Town Centre by 31 December 2021.
As members may have guessed, I am very passionate about Gungahlin and how the town centre develops. I am keen to see the community help shape the future of Gungahlin so that it helps to meet the needs of the Gungahlin district. When people come together to discuss their vision for the place they call home, we know that great things emerge. From my conversations with people in Gungahlin, I know they do not want to live in a dormitory region where they can sleep but do little else. They want a liveable town centre with employment opportunities, green space and places to gather, as well as quality homes.
The Greens went to an election on a strong platform of building a better normal. Part of that is ensuring that the development of this city meets community needs and that the community has a proper say. I want community views reflected in a comprehensive plan for the Gungahlin town centre to guide future land sales to developers. The ACT government has united behind these goals in the parliamentary and governing agreement to deliver better planning outcomes and, therefore, better social outcomes. We need to reconsider land sales in the Gungahlin town centre to ensure that we make decisions that will support our community’s wellbeing for decades to come.
By lodging this motion, I have brought attention to this issue and the importance that Gungahlin residents place on the future of our town centre. The motion has generated numerous valuable discussions within our community and within government. I wish to see these discussions continue so that we can create a better normal. As the minister for planning said this morning, Gungahlin is more than a town centre; it consists of 15 surrounding suburbs and is home to about 82,500 residents at the last count. The town centre is critical in providing the employments and services that this number of residents quite rightly expect from a town centre. It is important to ensure that we have the balance of community space, employment opportunities, and services right. That is why it is so important to ensure that the community have their say.
I welcome the planning minister lobbying for another federal agency to be placed in Gungahlin, where so many federal government employees reside. But I also do not hold my breath; the federal government has neglected Canberra as it moves federal departments into whichever marginal seats it needs to sandbag. However, the ACT government cannot just throw up its hands and say that it is too hard. This is the time for innovative thinking on how we can create employment opportunities for Gungahlin. Vertical aged care, digital hubs and cooperatives are just some of the ideas. I am sure that with the depth of expertise in government and the breadth of ideas in the community we can develop a rich array of ideas and opportunities for Gungahlin. We just need to try.
The Greens are launching a digital Possibilitree to collect and collate community views on the future of Gungahlin. I have been out in the electorate with a physical noticeboard and now have a digital one online. But we cannot implement innovative
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video