Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (29 November) . . Page.. 3415 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

brickworks site that involves restoring the heritage structures and finding a sympathetic use of the site that respects and highlights its heritage significance.

The government needs to separate this process from its consideration of the relocation of Floriade. In fact, the consultants' own work on assessing the suitability of the brickworks for Floriade found that the brickworks came fifth out of the possible 15 sites around Canberra. The best site they found was actually where it is right now in Commonwealth Park.

The government also needs to separate the future of the brickworks site from any proposals to put housing in the open space between Denman Street and Cotter Road. This proposal raises much bigger issues about the value of this open space and its role in the national capital open space system. This strip of land is actually the ridgeline that separates Yarralumla from Woden and there has been a longstanding planning principle in the ACT that such ridges and hills be kept as open space to separate the towns.

It is also the case that there is an area of remnant native grassland next to Dudley Street within this area that is listed for protection in the government's own action plan for natural temperate grassland. Yet this fact appears to have been ignored in the consultants' proposals for this land. Why were there not constraints given to the consultants, for heaven's sake? It is a case of "We don't care about grasslands, we just put roads next to them or through them."

The area 8A is much smaller than the land the consultants are looking at for development. It is, however, larger than the actual brickworks site and includes some open space to the south of the site on the side the natural bowl in which the brickworks stand. This land has not previously been built on but it has been disturbed over the years and is weed ridden. It is also in clear view of the brickworks and anything done with this land should be integrated with what happens to the brickworks.

My motion particularly seeks the initiation of a new community consultation process, or what I have termed a workshop process. Residents do want something to happen at the brickworks and many of them have some good ideas for mixed use development of the site that protects its heritage significance, and this development may well include some housing.

The concept of a workshop process, by the way, came from the community. It was interesting to me that they wanted to have those sorts of words included in this motion. I guess it is an indication of how disillusioned they are with the words "community consultation". They are afraid of what that will actually mean or how the government will interpret it, even though they do have a consultation protocol which, if it were observed, would probably be a reasonable process.

The community would like to work with experts from government in developing their ideas. They want to be regarded as partners in the process. What the residents do not want is to be treated like mushrooms.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .