Page 3210 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 10 November 2021
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It will be important going forward to get clarity and precision about what best practice mixed-use development is. There are some great examples of guidelines and research across the globe in this regard. I would love to see some of this innovation being developed in Gungahlin in consultation with the broader community and developers. Once again, I urge the ACT government and others to be innovative in thinking beyond the federal government when considering what kinds of industries and employment can be encouraged to set up and flourish in Gungahlin.
Similar to mixed-use development, there is a wealth of examples across the globe about initiatives that local governments have successfully implemented to attract commerce and trade to areas that do not share Gungahlin’s considerable transport, population and aesthetic amenity. I look forward to hearing more about how the new planning system will deliver its vision for high quality outcomes for Gungahlin.
Finally, we know that a healthy democracy flourishes only with engaged citizens who are supported to have a genuine, equitable and effective voice. My motion called for the people of Gungahlin to exercise their voice over the future of their town centre. We are closer to achieving this outcome, but there is still more to do.
MS ORR (Yerrabi) (10.32): In responding briefly to Minister Gentlemen’s ministerial statement, I acknowledge the commitment he has made to do a precinct sale for those remaining blocks around Flemington Road. As my colleague Mr Braddock has already indicated, there is a lot of concern and a lot of want within the community to see those blocks bring our town centre to life. I think the steps that Mr Gentlemen has taken—that we look at how we can do this in a different way, on a different scale, where we are taking the whole and not just the individual block—will provide a lot of benefit to our community and realise the aspirations that we want to see.
A little differently to my colleague Mr Braddock, in relation to the housing that is on those blocks, I am very supportive of having housing in our town centre. We know that people do want to have a home and we have a great place up in Gungahlin where they can live. But I would like to put it on the record that we do not do that at the expense of commercial opportunities. We must ensure that we have a good balance and that people have homes, places where they can go to work, places where they can go and get a coffee and places where they can have a catch-up with a friend. We need to make sure that we have all those uses going on in our town centre. That is certainly the feedback I hear overwhelmingly from people. They want to have a really active and lively place that they can all congregate around and come together in.
I am very encouraged by the steps that have been taken in responding to the motions, including my own, and the feedback from the community. We should definitely note the work that the Gungahlin Community Council has done. It has really been incorporated into the response that has come forward. While there is still a lot of work to be done and a lot to be written about these blocks and the development of the town centre, it has certainly come a long way from when it was just the Raiders club, Woolworths and a sandwich shop. I am sure we will continue to develop and prosper just the same in our communities.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
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