Page 4199 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 23 October 1991
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circles and to lead off from those circles. The reason was that it made them very attractive and also made the traffic easy to move. It was very attractive and functional in the town I came from, as it was in Leeton, and so it is in the city of Canberra.
Over the years Canberra has grown from the desolate wasteland, that it was before we decided that a city should be here, to become one of the most attractive cities in Australia. It is attractive because, as I say, the planning has been well thought out and it has been designed in consultation with people who have an eye for beauty as well as for a functional city. I would say that it would be one of the most attractive cities in the world. This is the city in which we live today and we are very grateful and very pleased to have such a beautiful city.
Mr Deputy Speaker, Griffin produced a plan that allowed the natural aspects of the land to blend with the needs of the people and the government to form a harmonious combination and to become literally a garden city. We have lots of green spaces; we have lots of trees; we can see the beautiful mountains in the background; and we have a very beautiful lake in the centre of the city and two lakes at either end of the city.
Our population continues to grow, and grow it will. We all know this. Canberra is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia. I gave the figures earlier. We have one of the highest concentrations of people under the age of 20, with 33.2 per cent. We are the second highest, next to the Northern Territory with 36.98 per cent. With so many young people, I imagine that we will grow not only through people coming to Canberra. These people will be getting married and having families. So, we will have a natural increase as well as immigration at a level greater than the rest of Australia. That is the way it seems to be.
I remember that when I first came to Canberra they had just built Woden. I remember that we purchased a house at Aranda and, when they used to ask my husband where we lived, he used to say, "Well, you know where Yass is?". They would say, "Yes". He would then say, "Well, we are the last stop before Yass". Well, now we are nearly to Yass. As I said before, Canberra is growing faster than the rest of Australia.
The first Follett Labor Government was concerned that the quality of life for all Canberrans should not be allowed to decline. Everyone in this Assembly would agree with that view, I am sure. We live in a beautiful city and we must not destroy it. We must not pass it on to our children in other than a beautiful state.
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