Page 887 - Week 03 - Thursday, 7 April 2022
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carers with lived experience to help improve service models, policies and practice. I look forward to our joint work to progress this.
Mr Acting Speaker, we recognise the critical role and value of play in enriching the lives of Canberrans of all ages and in creating a healthy, connected, vibrant and sustainable Canberra. The ACT government owns and manages 515 publicly accessible play spaces across Canberra, based in our local neighbourhoods and central districts. These play spaces provide children with a variety of play opportunities that help them develop cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally.
Based on consultation and extensive community engagement, the play space strategy maps out how we will maintain and improve these important community assets. This includes a focus on delivering more diverse types of play, such as bike tracks, water and nature play and fitness equipment. This strategy will help guide future planning across the entire play space network, to give all Canberrans ready access to a mix of district, central and local neighbourhood playgrounds.
The continuing expansion of active travel networks, footpaths and cycle paths has provided children and families with improved safety, health and wellbeing. Our slower streets initiative aims to encourage children, young people and families to be active in the community. Our changed approaches to schooling and working as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have created opportunities for families to consider new ways to travel in their local communities.
Finally, we must prioritise including children and young people in decision-making, especially in areas that affect them—ensuring they are informed and have a voice. Children and young people have a right to have their say in decisions that affect them and to have their opinions valued and considered. We are embracing the principles of co-design, to invite creativity and innovation into a space with the voice of lived experience, where we can safely identify the real problems.
The consultation and co-design undertaken by the Office of the Coordinator-General for Family Safety provided unique insights that truly represent the experiences and needs of children and young people. Over a six-month period, the ACT Children and Young People Commissioner and the Office of the Coordinator-General for Family Safety listened to 70 young Canberrans, 35 of whom had lived with family violence. These conversations made it possible to hear directly from young people about their experiences and the support they need.
The insights from these consultations have been published and shared widely in our community sector and across government. They provide the foundation for future supports and services and have so far informed two new initiatives: “got your back” is a peer support program for young people aged 12 to 25 years experiencing domestic and family violence run by Relationships Australia; and Relationships Australia and the ACT Youth Coalition are partnering with the Office of the Coordinator-General for Family Safety to build capability in the youth sector to recognise and respond to domestic and family violence.
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