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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 214 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

I want to raise an issue about the survey that members are relying upon to assert that the GDA and the government are not listening to the people of Gungahlin. I am advised that that survey was composed of an on-line survey which people could go to and indicate their response-it was not a scientific sample; it was self-initiated-and, secondly, that it was composed of surveying done face-to-face in the Gungahlin marketplace. The question asked was, "Are you concerned about traffic in the Gungahlin Town Centre?"Not surprisingly, people said yes. What has happened, though, is that those promoting the survey have then drawn the connection to say that, because people are concerned about traffic, it is an argument for a town square. That, quite frankly, is dishonest and, again, is not a reason to change the planning for the town centre.

The Gungahlin Development Authority undertakes extensive community consultation and surveying. There probably has not been one instance in the past five years that the GDA has not been represented at regular monthly meetings of the Gungahlin Community Council. The Gungahlin Community Council has a representative on the board of the Gungahlin Development Authority. Other Gungahlin residents are represented on the board of the Gungahlin Development Authority. Community interests in Gungahlin are represented on the board of the Gungahlin Development Authority. It is the most representative board we have of any statutory authority in the ACT, and the GDA will be continuing the consultation process.

For Mrs Dunne to assert that the GDA needs to recommence consultations is, I think, insulting, because this organisation engages with the community on an ongoing basis, in the ways I have already outlined. Also, within the next couple of months, it will be conducting a series of community forums on people's expectations and views about the town centre. It is an organisation responsive to the issues that are being raised and it is not afraid to engage in forums to hear those views.

I come to the final point of my argument against this motion. The suggestion is that we delay potential land release in Gungahlin whilst we recommence, to use Mrs Dunne's words, consultations. Mr Speaker, to delay would be to delay jobs, would be to delay services, would be to jeopardise confidence from investors in building in the Gungahlin town centre, and would be to delay the further construction of the most important town centre we have under our responsibility at the moment in terms of its development.

The sort of development we are looking at announcing very shortly for the Gungahlin town centre includes a major department store, additional supermarket facilities, additional residential development to bring people into the town centre to live there, and additional speciality shops. I am not going to go out to the community of Gungahlin and say that we are putting all that on hold because a few people want to look at this issue a bit more, because the survey-

Mrs Dunne: You could catch that up in the planning process if you wanted to.

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