Page 2919 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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valley—the linkage with Stromlo forest park, the feasibility study that is funded in this year’s budget for future aquatic provision, as part of our territory-wide pool strategy, to ensure that we have an appropriate distribution of swimming facilities across the territory, noting that there is a lack of a year-round facility in the inner south, Woden and Weston Creek areas. So the focus on Molonglo in this instance is to ensure that there is an indoor facility that would be utilised year round.
In relation to other pieces of community sporting infrastructure supported in this year’s budget, there is of course the Gungahlin pool, the Tuggeranong multi-use indoor sporting facility in the town centre and the funding that is available to upgrade some of those elite facilities such as Manuka Oval. Manuka, I note, in addition to hosting first-class cricket and being the home ground for the Giants when they play in Canberra, is a major ground for the ACT cricket and AFL competitions as well. So it serves a dual purpose and upgrading that facility will have a benefit not only at the elite end but also at the non-elite end of community-based sport within the territory.
I will close there and come back and respond to other shadow ministers and crossbench comments as the night proceeds.
Ms Hunter: I would like to take a point of order. In an earlier debate tonight during Mr Seselja’s motion, which was No 4 on the notice paper, Mrs Dunne made some personal slurs against me. Mr Speaker, I would like you to review the Hansard and come back with a ruling.
MR SPEAKER: Yes.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (9.35): There are a lot of issues that could be raised under this directorate because it has now become a large directorate. It includes not only LAPS and the LDA but also business and industry development. Ms Hunter has already touched upon, or in some cases more than touched upon, some of the issues that I will deal with in my speech. So it will be a bit of a tag-team event here.
First off, there is the government office building. Ms Hunter has already canvassed some of the issues. I would have to say that both my office and the Greens as a whole have been working through the documentation somewhat diligently over the past couple of months. There is an awful lot of it. Sadly, despite the sheer amount, I think that there is probably a bigger range of options available for the government than the government fully explored. The government has only looked at a very small range of possibilities.
I would have to say that I am still gob-smacked by the fact—and that does look better, as a pun, written down, I am afraid, for those of you who did not get it—that the government does not have an overall government accommodation strategy and does not intend to until after it has made a final decision on a new building. The cart and the horse analogy comes to mind here.
The Greens are still very open to the various options being further explored, and we note that this year’s budget gives another $500,000 to further feasibility studies. And we believe that it is sensible for there to be more studies, given that this is certainly a
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