Page 4807 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 11 November 2009
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have happened—Mr Coe would not be moving this motion and the Greens would not be supporting it—if the government was prepared to listen more to local communities.
On that note, I move the amendment which has been circulated in my name:
In paragraph 2(b), after “alignment”, add “in consultation with the local community”.
I will not talk more on that because that is really what I have been talking about in my whole speech. I understand that the Liberals will be supporting this amendment. I commend it to the Assembly.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (11.55): I would firstly like to congratulate Mr Coe on bringing this motion into the Assembly today. These are the sorts of motions that certainly gain less media attention than the previous motion we saw in the Assembly but they are very important to the lives of people who are affected by these sorts of decisions being made by the government. I think Mr Coe is well regarded and well recognised by all sides of politics for the amount of work he does for the community in the north of Canberra, particularly the grassroots campaigns that he runs that address, I guess, the voice of the local communities in making sure that their needs and issues are addressed.
I would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by Ms Le Couteur in this regard and thank her for the support she is providing to Mr Coe’s motion and her useful contribution as well as her amendment. I would also like to acknowledge the members of the community who are in the gallery today and the work that they have done to raise this issue not only on their behalf but on behalf of other members of the Harrison community and I commend them for the work that they have done to date.
The substance of this issue is one that will impact significantly on the residents of Harrison and will affect their standard of living and their quality of life. We have been approached, both the Liberals and the Greens, by a significant number of people in the community who are concerned about what is currently proposed for the Well Station Drive alignment. I note that both the opposition and the Greens have previously raised this issue with the government but as yet there has been no resolution of the concerns that have been raised.
As outlined by Mr Coe and Ms Le Couteur, the issue is a simple one, and that is that the proposed alignment of this drive will pose noise problems and road safety problems and reduce the amenity in the area. As we have members of the community here today, I would like to read from the petition that they put to the government in their words to express, I think, quite eloquently what their concerns are so that it is very clear for members of the Assembly:
Residents of the eastern portion of the Wells Station Estate at Harrison would like to bring to your urgent attention the matter of the proposed road extension for Wells Station Drive to join Horse Park Drive with a connection to Nullabor Avenue and its adverse impact on the residents.
The road had been planned to extend around the Wells Station Heights and the small hill. It has now come to our attention that the proposed route has been
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