Page 3304 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 October 2022
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MR RATTENBURY: I do not have a view on that yet, simply in the sense that it is in the middle of the consultation. I have heard the feedback from last night’s meeting, and obviously we are still waiting now for the other perspectives to come in. Obviously, the point of having a consultation is to solicit the community views to see whether people have particular preferences in the design process. This particular project, for example, uses about half of the oval at Emu Bank. Certainly at the earlier consultations—the more informal discussions with the community—people were clear that they did not want to see the whole oval used. They still wanted space to walk their dogs, and the like. So it was designed to seek to accommodate those views. There are some other views coming through now. We will clearly need to take those into account, but, again, I can assure the community that there is scope to take those matters into account. We will look at it as all the feedback comes in and assess the final design of the project in light of the feedback.
MR BRADDOCK: Minister, does the community like the Healthy Waterways projects established in other parts of Canberra?
MR RATTENBURY: Certainly, I think the Healthy Waterways assets are becoming incredibly popular in the sense that people enjoy walking around them and through them. They enjoy the wildlife that they attract, although I do recall—members who have been here for a while might remember this—the Lyneham wetland. When it was first being built there was some degree of community opposition. People were concerned that it would perhaps draw snakes and/or rats to the area. Some of the members in this place echoed those views, but having seen that project now fully built I know that the community has really embraced it.
We see them featuring in real estate advertisements for various properties that are located near to them. So I think that, generally, the community is very appreciative of them. People appreciate the wildlife. They appreciate the human amenity. They appreciate the park benches that often go with them because they can go and sit and relax. So, overall, I think they have been very well received, but there are questions that come up about the different types of designs coming through. As the research evolves the designs are changing and I think it is really important that we continue to tell the community why they are being done in the community and why that are being done this way, and take on board any concerns that people have.
Municipal services—Monash shopping centre upgrades
MS LAWDER: My question is to Minister for City Services. Minister, we have spoken in this place on a number of occasions about shopping centre upgrades. The supermarket at Monash shops closed some time ago and the site has been largely vacant. Nevertheless, your government was progressing with “upgrades” at Monash shops to attempt to attract a new tenant. A development application has now been lodged for a childcare centre on the site. Minister, is the government still going ahead with upgrades at the Monash shops at ratepayers’ expense?
MR STEEL: I thank the member for her question. As we undertake improvements to shopping centres and other public spaces around Canberra, we consult with the community on what they would like to see as part of those upgrades. Often we get
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