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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (16 February) . . Page.. 183 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

I know Mr Wood cares deeply about the people of Tuggeranong, and he recognises that fewer schools and fewer shops also mean fewer jobs in Tuggeranong. I wish this was universally understood in the Labor Party, but it is not. Roads and schools will have to be built somewhere else at considerable unnecessary cost to the environment, to the community and to the budget.

I have heard the Labor Party spokesman, Mr Corbell - it is a shame he has taken the opportunity to leave - talk about the importance of Canberra's land bank for future residential development. Indeed, despite the Government's action plan to save yellow box and red woody grasslands in Kinlyside, Mr Corbell has said in the past that this area must be retained for medium-density housing. Even if he perhaps does not have the same regard for the environment as clearly Mr Wood does, Mr Corbell understands the importance of utilising our potential residential land for Canberra's future growth.

More than 12 months ago I made the point that Tuggeranong needs employment opportunities like any other town centre in Canberra. Without constant renewal, without an employment base of its own, Tuggeranong will wither. Freezing residential activity in Tuggeranong will do just that. Mr Wood knows that. Mr Speaker, I am not prepared to see that happen. As Mr Wood knows, Tuggeranong's local centres are dependent on the growth of Tuggeranong to its full potential.

Like Mr Wood, I want the people of Tuggeranong to have the same access to services like shops. Like Mr Wood, I want older residents of Tuggeranong to have the confidence to know that their local shops will not be forced to close down as average household size falls. Falling average household size is a fact all over the country - indeed, all over the developed Western world. We can either accept this and plan for it, or we can allow our suburbs and town to become vacant, pointless spaces. Planning is about caring for the future. It is about securing the future. It is not about cheap stunts to secure short-term political advantage. I know that Mr Wood knows that, because Mr Wood has been a planning Minister and he has also been an environment Minister.

In summary, I do not support the end of residential development in Tuggeranong. As I said more than 12 months ago, I support the full development of Tuggeranong to the extent that it is set out in the Territory Plan. I do this because I want my family to have jobs and local shops and because I want other Australians to enjoy the same opportunities that I have to live in the most friendly part of Canberra. In finishing my answer to Mr Hird's question, I would like to put on the record my thanks to Mr Wood for his support on this matter and for his recognition of, and his commitment to, the people of Tuggeranong.

Mr Wood: Mr Speaker, can I ask my question about Reid Court again right now? I might get a different answer.

MR SPEAKER: No, you cannot. You may sit down. Mr Hird has a supplementary question, it appears.

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