Page 846 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 27 February 2013
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Tuggeranong get a fair go. This is an issue that Mr Seselja, Mr Smyth and I are all extremely passionate about.
Over the past year or so I have become well acquainted with many residents in the Lanyon valley. I personally knocked on the door of several thousand homes in Tuggeranong, with a good portion of these homes being within the suburbs of Gordon, Banks and Conder. One of the most common comments that residents raised with me was that they were sick of being treated like poor second cousins to residents of Gungahlin. Year after year Lanyon residents have seen the cost of living in the south go up and up, yet government services and community facilities have been forgotten.
Between 2001 and 2012 rates increased by 84 per cent in Conder, 99 per cent in Gordon and 152 per cent in Banks. That is, residents in Banks are now paying over 1½ times what they paid in 2001. Most home owners are willing to pay their fair share for local services, but they expect a few things in return. They expect that the basic local government services will be delivered in an economical manner and that increases in rate payments will equate to increases in local services. The question this government needs to ask itself is: have the residents of Banks seen local facilities improve by over 150 per cent? Sadly, we all know that the answer to this question is no.
As a new member in this place I thought it best to look at the budget papers to become aware of the spending priorities of the government. On the back page of budget paper 2 there is a fantastic little map that highlights areas that have been identified for investment. In the bottom left corner there is a small box with the heading “Tuggeranong and surrounds”. I note that Tuggeranong is the only box that has the “and surrounds” suffix added to it. Whilst reading the 14 points, I realised why this is the case. Of the 14 initiatives that are identified, four are not even in Tuggeranong. One of them covers a program that is also spread over various other parts of the territory. In fact, only one of the only items that are listed is an upgrade or rectification project; it is the new cemetery. It is clear that this government has no understanding of the needs of south Tuggeranong residents—nor does it want to.
There is a real need for community facilities in Lanyon—particularly a pool. Whilst doorknocking in Gordon, I met a mother whose children are heavily involved in the Tuggeranong swimming club. She explained to me the difficulties that she and the swim club were experiencing while trying to secure lane time at the Tuggeranong pool. The Tuggeranong pool is a popular facility utilised by learn to swim schools, aqua aerobics, swim clubs and the general public. With the ageing population in Tuggeranong and the increase in the number of independent living developments proposed or under construction, the demand for pool facilities is only going to grow. Clearly Lanyon is the obvious location for a new swimming pool facility.
I note that Ms Burch’s amendments make mention of the Labor-Greens parliamentary agreement, but this still fails to deliver the swimming pool for Lanyon. It fails to meet the needs of Lanyon residents and continues to fail to outline a time line for these plans to be delivered. All this does is simply illustrate the disconnect that members opposite are experiencing between what they perceive to be good policy and what the true needs of residents in Lanyon are.
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