Page 222 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The facts are very simple. The barrier was built a number of years ago. It worked. People moved into the area with the knowledge that the barrier was working. The integrity of the barrier has been destroyed. The community is fed up with the lack of action to restore the barrier and the community has asked that the barrier be restored. The government rejects that case and I think that is quite sad.
There are two purposes to the motion. The first is to seek the resolution of a legitimate community concern and the second is to correct a misinterpretation of a community concern by a government that apparently is not too concerned at all. I will certainly fight for the restoration of this barrier. It is important. Where these things can be fixed before they degrade even further, and at the least cost possible to the government, that would be a good outcome. If we have to wait until the barrier either degrades more, is eroded more or is dug in more by other utility companies before the situation is addressed, that is a bit sad.
The other issue then is the trees. The barrier sort of runs along Isabella Drive from north-east to south-west. At the top of Falkiner Close there are still a large number of trees along the barrier. At the bottom of Falkiner Close, where it hits the roundabout and you can either go into Macarthur or Chisholm, there are still a few trees there. A number of the residents have taken the opportunity over time to plant trees directly behind their own homes in an attempt to help insulate their homes. But there is a very large area in the middle of the mound that (1) is degraded, (2) has been dug in and eroded and (3) has no vegetation on it at all. So, simply from the point of view that the drought does appear to be broken and there is adequate water available now, it would certainly be a good time to plant some trees, fix this problem for the community, relieve those who are suffering from noise and restore the situation to where it was, where they were protected by the earthworks that were put in place some time ago, and can be restored to being able to live their lives as they ought.
One lady who responded to my calls sent an email and said:
It’s a great street, lovely neighbours, short walk to the shops and park. However, the down side of living here is the traffic noise. We have not noticed an increase since the cables were laid … and we do have some trees between us and the road. The noise from the road certainly reduces our enjoyment of being in our backyard, it is considerably louder when there is a southerly wind blowing. At peak times we can hear traffic inside our home, especially the trucks with exhaust brakes as they come down the hill to the roundabout. The trucks often start around 6am and some manage to navigate the roads quietly, others use their exhaust brakes all the way down the hill.
She simply finished by saying that she looked forward to any progress that could be made on the situation to improve where they live.
I have had a number of letters like that and other verbal comments that I have received. I think it is just a simple issue of restoring the mound to what it was. We are not asking for something new. The community are simply asking for the restoration of what they had so that they can have less noise in their lives.
I commend the motion to the Assembly.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video