Page 2754 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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really is not the purpose of their toilets, which are there principally for people using their cafe. But I would like to commend Barney and Ruby for generously continuing to allow members of the community, particularly the elderly, to use their facilities. I do welcome those initiatives from the government, and I will continue to advocate to make sure that the government now delivers on those promises.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (10.21): I would like to particularly focus on the land management component of the Directorate of Territory and Municipal Services. Our parks and reserves have had a bit of time in the sun this year in terms of both profile and public discussion. This can only be a good thing, because I sometimes think that these areas of the ACT, which make up some 54 per cent of the territory, are often a bit neglected, including by those in this place. Perhaps that is fair enough, as there are many other issues on the table, but it is pleasing that the state of our nature parks and national parks has seen some of the spotlight in the last 12 months.
Unfortunately, when we do focus on our parks and reserves it is not always a positive conversation. But it is important, in spite of everything, to acknowledge both the good work done by staff at TAMS in managing our reserve areas and the contribution made by the public, including the many park care volunteers who spend hundreds of hours weeding, replanting and generally caring for our reserve areas.
I am always struck by how many Canberra residents appreciate and enjoy the fabulous ambience of this city as it is embedded around our reserves. While nearly all Canberrans, I am sure, would appreciate how lucky we are to share in this beautiful landscape, I know that many Canberrans do not actually spend much time in the reserves close up. I am guessing this because I know that if they did we would be getting even more emails than we already do about how run down our reserves are; how some of them are losing the battle against weeds and feral animals; and how many of them are suffering from misuse by different recreational users. Funnily enough, we often receive this feedback from those who care about our natural landscapes and who understand the difference between a well-managed area and one that is not well managed.
I believe from everything that I have heard about submissions and discussions that the imminent report from the commissioner for the environment’s investigation into Canberra nature parks will address some of these challenges. The Greens are very much looking forward to the release of the report, as hopefully it will provide some thoughtful insights about how we might be able to deal with some of these challenges in a way that is efficient, delivers good outcomes, and maximises the enthusiasm and engagement of the community.
However, I do think we need to be mindful of the challenge that exists for the ACT. The reserve areas, combined with Namadgi, do make up a large proportion of the territory, and we are trying to support those areas with good quality management off a relatively low population base. Given that reserve management can be a little bit “out of mind, out of sight”, it is not surprising that we do not always find the resources that we need. The former Chief Minister, Mr Stanhope, once said that the management of our reserve areas came “at a very, very significant cost”. Sometimes it is difficult to calculate exactly what that cost is, particularly given the lack of information in some
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