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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (30 March) . . Page.. 1139 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

The conference in Tokyo was an opportunity to share experiences with health professionals from more than 22 countries and 100 cities.

The 21st Century will see the rise of many new megacities and almost half of the world's population will live in urban areas. Urban development leads to change in a wide range of health determinants. These include economic growth, food supply, information technology, higher education; the arts; infrastructure such as transportation, electricity and gas, water supply and sewage systems; social stability and people's lifestyles and family values.

Mr Speaker, our meeting before the conference was with Dr Shigeru Omi, the Director of WHO's Western Pacific Regional Office. The aim of the meeting with Dr Omi was to discuss Canberra's role and progress in the Healthy Cities movement.

Dr Omi commended our Assembly for supporting such a proactive approach to the Healthy Cities program in Canberra. He was particularly pleased to hear that the future of the program in the ACT has been secured through bi-partisan support from members.

The Tokyo conference offered a range of lectures and analysis from regional experiences including the European Healthy Cities Network and the Western Pacific. Presenters from around the world shared experiences and presented case studies through national and city sessions, and poster presentations. Participating countries included Japan, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, China, Laos, The Philippines, Mongolia, Malaysia, Slovakia and Vietnam.

Mr Speaker, the presentation from Canberra was extremely successful and, I am proud to say, won the award for best presentation.

The ACT's Chief Health Officer, Dr Shirley Bowen, and myself presented the lecture titled Canberra - A Healthy Capital.

We introduced our presentation by inviting participants to our Australian Pacific Healthy Cities Conference in June. The objectives of our conference are to showcase and promote Healthy Cities projects; respond to the challenges of community health development; and provide a forum for communities, policy makers and academics to share experiences.

The conference themes are campaigning for change; health promotion and intervention; indigenous communities; social and environmental sustainability; and profiles of Healthy Cities in our region.

We then provided a snapshot of life in the ACT, our health indicators and the challenges we faced, and how Canberra rates against the WHO Healthy Cities Principles.

Canberra is a planned city with more than 53% of its total area comprising nature parks and reserves. Its decentralised town centres are separated by urban bushland, while its residential, commercial, industrial areas and community are balanced with rural and urban open spaces.

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