Page 202 - Week 01 - Thursday, 9 April 1992
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which knows what it wants to do and is about to set about achieving it with a vengeance. I would be happy for this Government to use its mandate, such as it is, to get down to the business of charting some positive, ambitious course for this Territory. Even if it were not a course that I agreed with, at least it would be a course for the Territory. I do not see it. This statement, therefore, Madam Speaker, is a lost opportunity.
Debate (on motion by Mr Moore) adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion (by Mr Berry) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Capital Works Program - Tuggeranong Valley
MS ELLIS (4.49): I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of the Assembly the positive impacts on the Tuggeranong Valley, and in particular the families in the new and still developing suburbs of the valley, of the accelerated capital works program recently announced by this Government.
Of the total sum of $35m to be spent in this period, a total of $14.365m will be spent on the valley. This includes $7.4m to be spent on Tharwa Drive, $3.1m on Athllon Drive, $1.5m to upgrade Wanniassa and Kambah high schools and a massive $1.5m for the upgrading of Stromlo High School. Also, $690,000 will be spent on stage 2 of the Tuggeranong Parkway median barrier project. I am personally particularly pleased that $175,000 will be spent on a neighbourhood house in the new suburb of Conder. These capital works will go a long way in providing jobs for Canberrans over the next and coming years. In particular, this program will provide much needed urban facilities in the Tuggeranong Valley.
Madam Speaker, prior to the election, I personally doorknocked a great many of the Tuggeranong Valley households. This was an invaluable experience for me, and I am able to say that I learnt a great deal from my discussions with the thousands of residents I met. One of the things I discovered was that there was a great need for community support, particularly in the Conder-Banks-lower Gordon area. For those members of the Assembly who may not be aware, these are new suburbs which in many ways are isolated not only from Canberra but also from the rest of Tuggeranong. Neighbourhood houses have been a necessary part of Tuggeranong life and provide an invaluable focus for these small communities.
They not only provide comfortable meeting places but also provide special programs, such as TAFE outreach programs, programs for ethnic women and single mothers, occasional care programs and general support for their community. I considered it essential that a facility such as this become available in this region of Tuggeranong as a matter of urgency, and I applaud Minister Connolly's actions in accelerating that particular part of the capital works program.
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