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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Tuesday, 29 June 2004) . . Page.. 3002 ..

MR HARGREAVES (12.58): This is for Mr Pratt’s education, given that this is the portfolio we are discussing. He talked about there possibly being a need for youth centres at Erindale and Calwell. I would like to remind Mr Pratt of the fact there was a review of youth centres not that long ago, which enhanced the Tuggeranong Youth Centre. That was a couple of years ago. I stand to be corrected but I think it was when Mr Corbell was minister, just prior to Ms Gallagher taking over the portfolio.

Mr Smyth would probably remember the dark days of the Tuggeranong Youth Centre and the change brought about by the people who were in it. One of the things they did, which is the sort of thing Mr Pratt was just talking about, was link in with Communities at Work and with the Tuggeranong Community Arts Association. In linking with the youth centre, the TCA conducted such programs as anger management through artistic expression. Those sorts of things were already happening.

MR SPEAKER: We could try some of that here!

MR HARGREAVES: Yes, I know. Through some artistic expression, the cartoonists here might be able to help us out! I remind Mr Pratt that there is the Police and Citizens Youth Club at Erindale. I would have thought that was some kind of a youth centre. There is also Gugan Gulwan at Erindale. I would have thought that was some sort of youth centre as well, particularly as 75 per cent, or thereabouts, of the indigenous young people in town live in the Tuggeranong Valley and we have specialist services there.

I would like to echo what Mr Pratt was saying about the Murra Centre at Conder. It is a terrific centre. I have expressed in this house my appreciation for the work Mr Stefaniak did in creating that and making sure it came up out of the ground. I think that was great. The one lesson for us all is that that particular centre was a solution into which the problem could grow. It was provided before young people full-on used it.

Now that the demographic of that part of the town has grown—I think the average age is around 14 or 15—the services are sitting there. That is why we do not have the same degree of trouble down there as we do elsewhere in town. I think we should be congratulating the minister for these initiatives for our kids. These are brilliant initiatives, and we should stop pontificating around the place, just get on with it and pass the budget.

Proposed expenditure, as amended, agreed to.

Proposed total appropriated to departments.

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism, Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming, and Acting Minister for Planning) (1.01): I move amendment No 4 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 3006].

Amendment agreed to.

Proposed expenditure—Total appropriated to departments, $1,600,270,000 (net cost of outputs) and $403,635,000 (capital injection), and $344,658,000 (payments on behalf of the territory), totalling $2,348,563,000, as amended, agreed to.

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