Page 3903 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Out-of-order petition
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (10.02), by leave: I present:
Petition which does not conform with the standing orders—Monash shops redevelopment—Ms Lawder (127 signatures).
As Brindabella members here in this this place would know, plans for some redevelopment at the Monash shops are afoot. It has been the source of much discussion in the community recently. So Monash shops, where the supermarket once was, has been vacant for some years and local residents are very concerned about the amenity provided for people in their suburb.
The current proposal would see the redevelopment of the shops to accommodate a new childcare centre. Of course, as with most proposals, there has been a mixed response. Some residents have noted that Monash already has a childcare centre, and they believe that a supermarket reopening there would be better suited to community needs. That is what this out-of-order petition today is about, with 127 signatures from members of the community.
We discussed a similar issue last week, when we talked about Richardson shops. Local suburban shops are an issue that residents feel strongly about. Sadly, they can be vacant despite local community support. The challenges of these suburban shops need to be investigated further by our government so that barriers can be removed to improve their viability and allow them to be a great community asset that we know they can and should be.
We have heard about this at Richardson shops and, now, at Monash shops. We have heard about it at Giralang and in some places in Molonglo—the long-lasting battle to get local shops and the benefit to local residents. I really hope that the consultation process for Monash shops redevelopment continues to a standard that ensures that residents’ voices and concerns are listened to, and I commend the petition to the Assembly.
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (10.04): I also just wanted to say a few words about the out-of-order Monash shops petition, because what we see here is democracy in motion. That is what we see with petitions all the time in this place, and I applaud Murray and Cathleen and all of the residents of Monash who attended a hastily convened public meeting at the Monash shops several weeks ago. A number of those residents have formed a view that the government’s consultation is a box-ticking exercise, with a pre-determined outcome, but they also have genuine concerns about what is planned for their shops.
Monash shops, like Richardson shops and Bonython shops, are no longer servicing those communities in the way that they were envisaged to service them. That becomes particularly problematic when you consider the proximity of the Goodwin village to Monash shops. I think Ms Lawder made a really good point that, at the end of
the day, a petition in this place regarding Monash shops is not going to be on many
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