Page 3813 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 30 November 2021
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which is very well loved, and we have Phillip. There are many, particularly teenagers, on the south side who rely on this swimming pool for whole days during the summer. Their parents know that they are somewhere safe and doing an activity that is good for them. Before going to the lease conditions, I seek leave to table a petition containing 194 additional signatures which was received through my website.
Leave granted.
MRS JONES: I table the following out-of-order petition:
Petition which does not conform with the standing orders—Phillip Pool—Mrs Jones (194 signatures).
The two official petitions containing 374 and 115 signatures and this petition containing 194 signatures take this petition to well over 600 signatures. This is a significant petition and it shows the depth of feeling about this swimming pool in my electorate and in the Woden Valley. I have spent time, from Weston Creek, at the Phillip swimming pool. It is a fantastic swimming pool and it must be maintained for the people of our region. It is part of the Australian way of life to have the opportunity to go to an open-air swimming pool in summer. I would not like to see the people of the south side of Canberra denied that opportunity.
On the conditions that the pool was sold under, under the 99-year lease, paragraph 4(r) states:
Authority may by notice in writing to the Lessee specifying the repairs and maintenance needed require the Lessee to effect necessary work in accordance with the notice.
It also states:
If the Lessee does not carry out the required work within the time specified by the Authority any person or persons duly authorised by the Authority with such equipment as is necessary may enter the premises and carry out the necessary work and all costs and expenses incurred by the Authority in carrying out the work shall be paid by the Lessee to the Authority on demand and from the date of such demand until paid shall for all purposes of this lease be a debt due and payable to the Authority by the Lessee …
It is pretty sad that we got to the position that we did and this swimming pool is closed for this summer. I believe it can be open before the end of summer. If the government have the drive to get the repair work done, they are well entitled to get it done themselves and charge the lessee. It is not good enough that, after a year of being cooped up at home for most of winter, under COVID, the people of the Woden Valley and the surrounding region cannot go to their open-air swimming pool this summer, when it is particularly needed. It may have been because inspections were not done or communication with the owner was not perfect, but the terms of the lease allow very much for that work to be carried out.
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