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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 09 Hansard (Tuesday, 17 August 2004) . . Page.. 3738 ..

The opposition at one stage suggested that the community should be asked to endure stricter water restrictions so that the government could maintain a higher level of water consumption, but we did not take that up.

There is a drought issue: maintenance of trees. I see branches coming down at various places around the town, and we have to remove those. Nevertheless, we have planted over 750 young trees in the last couple of years. We have had to reduce that program this year, but we are carrying on an extensive program of removing dead or declining trees in preparation for plantings in the future.

Another major project undertaken was the general clean-up of the numerous stands of pine trees within the urban area, reducing their potential fire hazard and improving the contribution to parkland amenity and also simply making the place look better. I suggest you drive along Dryandra Street some time to see how that is working. The work involved removing woody weeds, thinning the stands of trees to reduce their density and removing lower branches.

Landscape works have also been undertaken to refurbish shrub beds along road verges and adjacent to underpasses. Twenty roundabouts are currently being landscaped in Tuggeranong, and the two major roundabouts, at the airport and on the Federal Highway, are also being refurbished to improve the appearance of our major entry points. Ongoing environmental weed and feral animal control programs have been undertaken throughout the city. The foreshores of the Yerrabi and Gungahlin ponds and their islands have been planted to stabilise their banks and prevent erosion, and a Yarralumla Creek restoration project will commence shortly. I am sure you have admired the work that has been done by the wonderful group out Ginninderra Creek way.

Upgrading shopping centres and urban precincts is another way this government is contributing to the look of Canberra. I know we cannot do every shopping centre as rapidly as some of our constituents would wish, but we continue to work on it. The Mawson Centre is now a pleasant and safe precinct for shopping and socialising, since its recent refurbishment. New features include paving, lights, street furniture, shade trees, shade structures and a bus stop. The achievements of Douglas Mawson are celebrated in the form of art works that reflect the antarctic landscape and experience. The refurbishment represents the culmination of extensive public consultation, which addressed the needs of business, community organisations, schools and residents.

Take Hobart Place: a busy city space was upgraded to improve public amenity and safety and address some problems of several years standing. Collaboration between designers, building owners, traders, waste agencies and artists have resulted in new features that include a performance space, paving, grassed area, seating and a drinking fountain. A feature fountain named “Sweet Justice” is designed to be viewed from the ground as well as from surrounding office buildings, and I pay respect to the people in the private sector who contributed significantly, in money terms and in time, to the Hobart Place redevelopment.

In a totally new program introduced by this government, Canberrans are being encouraged to discover the features of many of our parks and open spaces. The “‘round town” initiative is CUP’s exciting program of free community events, just to keep our city areas lively. These events include the popular teddy bears picnics, live music in the

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