Page 958 - Week 03 - Thursday, 28 February 2013
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There is a regular timetable for mowing, and that is available on the TAMS website. At this time of the year, depending on the location, the frequency can be somewhere between four and six weeks for a regular mow. I would have to take some advice on this specific location. I am happy to look into that matter. You said the residents have made numerous representations. I will also check whether those have been recorded by Canberra Connect and, if they have not been acted on, why not.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, what assurances can you give those residents that the path will be maintained over the long term, or do you require them to make constant specific requests?
MR RATTENBURY: Thank you, Mrs Jones, for the supplementary question. There, of course, is a regular maintenance program around Canberra, as I have just alluded to. There is a huge volume of mowing that needs to be done across the city, but TAMS has a regular program of maintenance of these facilities. I do not expect the residents to have to make repeated representations.
That said, there is a discussion to be had about the capability of TAMS to provide the service and perhaps a different expectation from the residents of the area. That may be a point of dispute.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, why does it seem to take a media report or a question from us before anything actually gets done on these basic but important city services?
MR RATTENBURY: I reject the very premise of your question, Mr Doszpot. I think that, as I outlined, TAMS has an extensive and active maintenance program across the city. You can go to the website yourself and see the timetable for mowing. I am sure if you looked at that you would see that there is a regular commitment. TAMS has a regular litter picking program across the city. There is a dedicated team for tree maintenance.
That said, we live in a well spread out city. We are very fortunate to have a large amount of open space. So there are matters that do come to residents’ attention at times before they come to the directorate’s attention. That is why the government has established Canberra Connect. I think it is an excellent service for getting some of these matters sorted out.
My personal view, and this is one I take to the portfolio, is that I would rather have a service where people are able to call Canberra Connect and have something addressed than allocate resources to just having people—TAMS staff—driving around the city looking for maintenance issues.
There are active teams out there all of the time. When they notice a job, they either fix it themselves or they log it for future work. But I do not think it is a good use of
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