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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2198 ..

Community space

MS DUNDAS: My question is to the Minister for Planning, but it is not about the Gungahlin Drive extension. Minister, considering the shortage of community space in Belconnen, and of art exhibition space in particular, will the government defer any land allocations in the Belconnen town centre area until the report of the Belconnen community facilities study is complete?

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, I would be interested to know exactly what land Ms Dundas is referring to. If she is saying we should delay the release of more residential land or commercial land, clearly that is an issue which I don't believe is necessarily appropriate. If Ms Dundas is concerned about particular sites, I would be happy to hear about them and take that into account in the process.

MS DUNDAS: Mr Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. To provide more information for the Minister for Planning, I point out that the Belconnen master plan notes that a portion of section 187 on the shore of Lake Ginninderra should be used as community space, and several community groups have called for the construction of a cultural centre on this site. Will the minister refrain from releasing section 187, which is marked down as commercial on the land release program, until a feasibility study has been completed or prepared?

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, I am not familiar with the details or the timing of any proposed release of that site, so I will provide some further information to Ms Dundas.

Gungahlin Drive extension

MR PRATT: Mr Speaker, my question is to the minister for sport. Mr Quinlan, the AIS, Canberra Stadium, the Bruce campus of the CIT, the ACT Academy of Sport and the sports training oval immediately to the south of Canberra Stadium are all tightly located within the Bruce precinct for a purpose. They are all interdependent, with students from Bruce CIT and the academy using facilities at the AIS, the training oval and Canberra Stadium. AIS officials and research staff need access to the CIT. The future success of sport and its scientific development depends on this close-knit association.

Minister, will not the bulldozing of a 100-metre-wide trench through the middle of this sporting fraternity disrupt the sporting, education and research capability of this community? Will not our students, athletes and researchers be severely inconvenienced by this ridiculous "road in a trench" forced through their habitat? Will not this option split asunder the future development options for this "blue-chip" site?

MR QUINLAN: First of all, can I congratulate Mr Pratt on the colourful nature of the question, delivered with words such as "splitting asunder" et cetera. There was quite a little bit of theatre there. But I think the question boiled down to: "Why can't the coach cross the road?" I am informed that Battye Street, which provides access to the Canberra Stadium, will still remain open. So I am presuming that people who want to get from one side of the road that splits asunder Bruce precinct would probably use the bridge.

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