Page 5840 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 7 December 2010
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The regional community facilities project is delivering great benefits to local communities, including eight new community meeting places across the ACT. This initiative is creating a stronger and more sustainable community sector and is providing more accessible services for those who need them most. It is assisting 39 non-government, not-for-profit organisations with affordable premises to deliver their services to local residents. These services will be co-located in themed community hubs focusing on health and wellbeing, arts and education and other mixed uses.
I am pleased to be able to update the Assembly that the regional community facilities project is well progressed and I can report that this project is delivering a great outcome for many communities. At Village Creek, Kambah, Minister Gallagher will know that the ACT Health facility, including building car park works, are completed and were handed over to ACT Health in November. In October I visited the Mount Neighbour site in Kambah, where the former school has been demolished and construction is underway for 57 older persons public housing units there.
I also note that the Rivett community hub refurbishment is complete, with the tenant, Noahs Ark Children’s Resource Centre, occupying the premises. In Belconnen, I also launched the Cook arts and education hub in September of this year, and the response to this hub has been fantastic. When the tenants held their open day in October it was attended by over 600 enthusiastic members of the local community.
In November I was particularly pleased to open the brand-new Bonython and Griffith neighbourhood halls that were delivered under this project. The halls will be managed by Communities@Work and Southside Community Services and they have already reported a high demand for those facilities. I am also pleased to say that the refurbishment of premises at the Hall headmaster’s cottage and Hall pavilion and Tharwa are now available for use by local communities.
There are still some sites where works are still in progress. At the mixed services hub at Holt the internal building works are completed, with a car park due for completion in December of this year. At the Weston community hub some internal building works such as the new disabled access bridge and lift are still being constructed and the car park is scheduled for completion by the end of December.
The internal refurbishment works at Chifley health and wellbeing hub have been completed with several tenants occupying their tenancies, including Neurospace, Autism Asperger ACT, the Australian Diabetes Educators Association, YMCA and the Warehouse Circus.
The community facilities project is delivering on the ACT government’s commitment to build a better city and a stronger community and I look forward to further updating the Assembly.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Ms Porter?
MS PORTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Could the minister inform the Assembly about how the public can access the Bonython and Griffith neighbourhood halls?
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