Page 489 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 13 March 2007
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sight for young kids, so something has to be done. I would criticise the organisers, quite frankly, for not having foreseen this concern.
We also saw on YouTube an indication of ongoing violence in town later that night. So basically the event became an incubator for young people to get further smashed to the eyeballs and then go from the lake precinct into town to cause further trouble. In many cases they were under age and just out of control.
There is no doubt the police were stretched that night. I would really encourage the police minister and the Chief Police Officer to do whatever they can to ensure that our police are resourced to be able to handle these things. It is not just a police problem; it is a whole of government issue, a societal issue.
There are parents to be criticised here. Schools have got to do a lot more about intervening and educating their teenagers about what their responsibilities are. It is not just a police problem; it is not just an organiser’s problem; it is a whole of government, a whole of society issue. We must face it, Mr Speaker: we have a youth binge-drinking problem in this town that needs to be attended to. The police need to be better resourced and to be able to react quickly in sufficient strength to quell these sorts of problems in Civic, at large events and at weekend parties, before they get out of control.
Tuggeranong Valley Band
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (5.01): I thank the immediate past president of Tuggeranong Valley Band, Ms Kerry Kimber, the entire band and those that support it, for another successful year in 2006. The band elected itself a new president, Mr Keith Ross. Keith recently retired, so running the band for him, given the tenor of some of the debate today about being active in our retiring years, clearly shows that this is another active older Canberran who is willing to put something back into society. I congratulate Kerry for her years of service, not just as immediate past president but also as a member of the senior band and thank her for her ongoing support for Tuggeranong Valley Band. I also wish president Keith Ross all the success that he deserves.
The band has had a few changes in the past few months. Unfortunately, the concert band conductor, Gerry Foster, was unable to continue his duties and retired from the band. He is being replaced by Michael Faragher as the new band conductor. To ensure continuity the band also established a new position of deputy conductor, which is to be filled by Cameron Smith. Ruth, who has been conducting the intermediate band, will continue in that position. It is interesting that a band that is so active and that has for so many years been a huge part of the Tuggeranong scene is now at risk simply because of the closure of Village Creek primary school. Kerry has this to say about Village Creek primary school:
We have already started exploring other locations for next year but it will be very hard to find one that is as cheap as Village Creek and as generous in providing us storage space.
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