Page 5508 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 9 December 2009
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Erindale residents have suggested that consultation on the master plan be conducted through active organisations such as the Tuggeranong Community Council, Neighbourhood Watch, and Business Tuggeranong. It was proposed that active groups like these meet with key parties to the master planning, including ACTION, ACTPLA, and local businesses and developers. The government needs to commit to bringing these groups together to ensure that Erindale and surrounds are planned effectively. It is important that these groups are given adequate notice of all consultation meetings and community forums.
It is important that the government not just make token efforts of consultation with residents of Erindale. This motion calls on the government to take a more thoughtful approach to planning for the whole of the Tuggeranong Valley. Constituents have demanded thoughtfulness in planning. The community has said they want a rigorous, thorough and considered process that they can easily participate in. This is making a positive statement about what can be achieved and has come from the views expressed to us by constituents.
I do note that the government will be moving an amendment to this part of the motion, which the Greens will support as it does retain the idea of taking a bigger picture view and future focus for the Tuggeranong area. Given the Erindale master plan may have an impact on residents throughout the Tuggeranong Valley, it is important that the government give all those who will be affected by changes in the Erindale area the opportunity to have their voices heard.
Interested stakeholders with whom I have consulted have also informed me that they wish to discuss transport through the master planning process. Constituents have asked that the proposed changes to transport services in Erindale be outlined to the community before these changes occur. We all know that prior to the election which brought me and my three ACT Greens colleagues here, the Labor government had developed somewhat of a reputation for implementing decisions with what could be called a cursory regard to community input. We need to ensure that action without community involvement is a thing of the past.
Creating community trust is central to delivering the outcomes that master planning seeks to deliver. This will involve talking to the community about the implications of the sustainable transport plan and the 2031 strategic network plan, including plans to create a bus interchange in Erindale and how this will affect the area. The ACT Greens have always maintained that fast-track decisions without regard to community input leads to bad decisions. We want smart decisions, community-driven decisions, the right decisions.
Constituents have reported to me a range of existing road and transport problems in the Erindale precinct. It is said that the Erindale restaurant strip has not been set up for the volume of traffic it now experiences, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings. Consumers have noted that parking on busy days such as Saturdays has also become difficult. There is also frustration that the Gartside Street precinct, originally set up as a car repair and maintenance area, has since developed into a restaurant precinct without adequate planning, including reasonable transport-related facilities. Effective
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