Page 1937 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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We stand for families, we stand for business, we stand for opportunity and we stand for values. This is our calling as a party and as people, and we will not back away from those values—not for political gain, not from personal pressure, not now, not ever. We would like to see some of the issues that we have discussed here addressed. Unfortunately, my time has run out. There are still quite a few other issues to talk about in sport and recreation, but no doubt we will get the opportunity to do that during estimates, Mr Barr. I am glad to see you have finally joined us.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (5.40): I rise today as a member for Ginninderra to draw members’ attention to aspects of this budget that will greatly benefit the constituents in my electorate. This budget responds to the needs of a growing city, and I am delighted to stand in this place to talk about it, especially the contribution that it makes to the people of my electorate.
The 2010-11 budget demonstrates this government’s determination to invest in essential services and community infrastructure across the ACT. I would like to draw people’s attention to some of the ways in which my constituents will benefit from this responsible budget. I am pleased to see the measures in this budget for people in my electorate in many ways. Over $4 million has been allocated to develop park-and-ride facilities across Canberra, including Belconnen. This is an important initiative, and it speaks for this government’s determination to encourage Canberrans to use the public transport system. Additionally, the government has made provision for bike shelters in Belconnen, as part of the bike-and-ride initiative, to accommodate between 20 and 25 bikes.
My constituents will also benefit from other environmentally focused initiatives. Over $7 million has been assigned for stage 1 of the Belconnen-to-city transit way, which will develop the Barry Drive and College Street sections. Additionally, $200,000 has been assigned for a feasibility study for options for a transit way between Macarthur Avenue and Haydon Drive. These initiatives acknowledge the growth in my electorate and demonstrate a desire to build structures to a level commensurate with this growth.
A strong public transport service is critical to an environmentally sustainable city, so I am pleased that the government has put money aside in this budget to encourage the people of Ginninderra to use the public transport system whenever possible. I already mentioned briefly the initiative to help encourage people to ride their bicycles to work as well. These two initiatives have several benefits, of course. The push to get us either riding our bikes to work or commuting in buses promotes more environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviour as well as improving our health. We all know that rising obesity is a problem for our society.
As we know, the provision of childcare—members have been talking about that just now—is a critical resource to contemporary Australian families. I am pleased to see that this budget has allocated $4 million to refurbish the old school site in Flynn to be used as a dedicated childcare centre that will offer 100 to 120 places to families in Ginninderra.
I am also very pleased to see that over $300,000 has been allocated for the design of a storage and water control pond adjacent to Lake Ginninderra as well as a series of
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