Page 2928 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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we are not always going to get those. Whilst we do need to have guidelines in place for some guidance, we also need to not close the government off to that kind of possibility or a range of other possibilities. We need to have the flexibility. Guidelines are good—some framework of what we have in mind—but we also need to allow room for creativity and doing things that we might not have thought of that turn out to be an unexpected or tremendous success.
Let me move to sport and recreation. There were a number of positives in the budget. The Greens welcome the funding emphasis on community facilities in the budget, because we believe investing money in community sport delivers the most bang for buck.
The $26.3 million for the 50-metre pool at Gungahlin is good news for the people of Gungahlin. I think some of them would suggest it is overdue, but it is certainly good news because they do deserve to have access to such a facility in their region, particularly with the growth in that community and the demographic spread of that community. An aquatic facility is going to be a tremendous addition for the region. We welcome the decision to invest now in infrastructure for this growing region. All we now need is light rail to Gungahlin so that people can commute to work after their morning swim. That would create the ultimate in active transport for the good citizens of Gungahlin.
We are also pleased to see investment in local community level initiatives such as the $2.1 million for the multi-use centre in Tuggeranong and $3 million for playing fields in Kippax, Charnwood and Isabella Plains. This is exactly the sort of infrastructure we need in our suburbs to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle for as many Canberrans as possible.
We are also pleased to see that the government is planning a feasibility study into a leisure centre at Molonglo, potentially filling a gap in services in the Weston Creek area. And it is positive that that thinking is being done now. One of the great frustrations for many of the residents of Gungahlin has been that their community was long established before many of the facilities came along. There has been a real gap there where people, particularly the young people, of Gungahlin have really suffered through the lack of these kinds of facilities.
One of the questions that I have that I was not able to get to the bottom of in estimates, and the minister might be able to assist me with this tonight, was when I sought to explore the government’s policy on what sort of organisations receive funding for assistance with accommodation. This came up during question time today. Whilst it was contentious to ask this in estimates—more contentious than I anticipated—I was trying to understand the difference.
This year we have seen just over $1 million for player facilities at CIT to support the Canberra Raiders. This may be a fair investment, but I think it would be a debatable point in the community. Some people will say that we should not invest in elite sport; others will say that of course we should: it is an important part of the community. I do not seek to put my view on that tonight, but I want to explore the consistency in the government’s policy position.
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