Page 3996 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 1 December 2021
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On Saturday morning there was consultation at the Kippax group centre. I am sure that most members here, perhaps all, have been to Kippax. There is quite a lengthy stretch of retail and commercial property and on both sides there are retail and commercial opportunities. I thought, “Surely, on such a day, a Saturday, with the weather the way it is, it will be indoors.” I did what I thought was a sensible thing to do and checked the various open spaces indoors. There was no consultation area to be found. I have to say that it was pretty much by accident that I spotted it near the library. I was joined by a few people who said to me, in almost identical words, “We didn’t know where this was; we were just lucky to find it.” That is not genuine consultation. I would urge the minister—Minister Steel I believe was responsible—to redo this consultation.
On Monday afternoon there was consultation for mostly Hawker residents. As shadow planning minister, constituents were contacting me and asking if I was going to attend. I was on my way, driving through Hawker, and looking for what was called the “Hawker green space”. There was actually a map in the consultation letter that had been letterboxed to some of the residents. Nowhere on that map was a location saying, “Hawker green space”. It was purely by accident, as I was driving into Hawker, that the father of one of my regular contacts in that district saw my car and waved at me. I thought, “What have I done wrong?” So I pulled over and we had a chat. He was able to walk me to where this was. Again, that is not consultation. You do not tell the community, “Please come and meet here,” without being pretty specific about where “here” is.
I would urge Minister Steel to reconsider this consultation approach and re-calendar these two consultation opportunities. I have an email just today from a constituent who said, “A friend of mine wanted to be there, but they didn’t know where it was going to be.” That is not consultation. Unfortunately, it seems to be a hallmark of this government.
Valedictory
MR BRADDOCK (Yerrabi) (4.48): 2021 continued where 2020 left off. Unfortunately, within this Assembly I cannot swear like a trooper, as I would in the privacy of my home, but you can imagine where I would tell it to shove it.
To the residents of Yerrabi in Canberra, as we head into the end of the year I encourage everyone who can to take an extended break. Everyone is tired and needs time to rest, recuperate and recharge. To those who cannot take an extended break, I thank you for your service over this period in whatever sector you happen to be working in. I hope you get an opportunity at some point to take that extended break in the future. I hope this summer brings nothing more alarming than the sounds of cricket, a cold drink and time with family and friends. I hope there is no need to fear floods, fire or plague.
To the community groups and volunteers who work tirelessly to make Canberra a better place, I would like to say thank you. Your work—whether it involves planting trees, forming social ties, building rotundas, cleaning up Yerrabi Pond, looking out for
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