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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 3 Hansard (12 March) . . Page.. 918 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

community to have a place like that. The aesthetics of it will not be the same if we have a liquor barn there. To suggest otherwise is laughable. On a couple of occasions, I have sat on that block with concerned residents. I have been very interested in the strong community response to any presence on that block, which is saying, "Keep this block as it is."

I have been to a lot of places where you say, "Toot if you care about this."I have sat at protests, and I have sat at different locations where that has been a mechanism used by groups who are dissenting from the government policy of the day. "Toot if you agree"or "Toot if you don't agree."I have never seen such activity as that at Nettlefold Street-except maybe at the South African Embassy. There was a lot of tooting at the South African Embassy when we were opposing apartheid.

The number of people at Nettlefold Street was very interesting. They didn't just toot-they were gesturing and yelling out their windows, "Yes, we like this space!"This is about a sense of place. A sense of place is something you have to link into notions of sustainability. It is about what makes us human, and what makes us work as communities. You cannot belittle the notion of the aesthetic, of the sense of place, and the meanings these sorts of places can have for people. In addition, at Nettlefold Street, there are arguments for its ecological value, but I have already covered that.

In conclusion, I appreciate members' input in this debate. It is one that will continue. I understand Mr Corbell's amendment is up, so this motion will be supported, as amended. I appreciate the fact that the minister is revising land release programs and taking into account everything that has been happening-that gives some hope. I wait with interest to see what this language about "sound ecological condition", "relatively intact"and "connected with other similar areas of habitat"means in respect of decisions made by the government in this area.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Clean Up Australia Day

MS MacDONALD (11.50): I move:

Our city looks a lot cleaner after Sunday, 2 March, and so do our roadsides, waterways and reserves. This is thanks to the 1,540 hard-working Clean Up Australia Day volunteers, who removed 36.5 tonnes of rubbish from 60 sites in Canberra. The day's volunteers were a mixture of families, individuals, businesses and community groups. About 320 school students also participated. Organisers hope many more people will take part in next year's event.

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