Page 1186 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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supposed to be. I moved into a house in Amaroo, had two babies and then moved out of Amaroo and I still did not have anywhere to go locally to get my bread and milk. When my husband took the car to work, I could not actually get to a shop. Even the local park was quite a long way away. Amaroo suffers because, for some unknown reason, Bonner shops were built before Amaroo shops were built. And I still do not understand why that is the case.
Ngunnawal shops are run down and are a little dilapidated. There is quite a good clientele there at least because there are a lot of tradies working in Casey and so on who come in there at lunchtime. During the campaign I had a great time at Ngunnawal shops. I would go in there in my big “Giulia with a G” van at lunch time. I would get out of the van and go in and get myself something to eat. I was working so hard during that election campaign with the G-mobile that I—
Mr Barr: Even when you park it illegally it gets photographed and put all over the web.
MRS JONES: I was not always driving the G-mobile; so I will not take responsibility for every error of judgement made by those who were driving it. I had some very good volunteers during the campaign.
Ngunnawal shops are vibrant shops but the local residents really do deserve a little better. Maybe these things do not need to be solved with a lot of money. I will get onto that in a minute. At the Lyons shops, although they have had some upgrades, there are still ongoing issues with parking. Erindale shops have a number of issues, and we addressed them during the campaign. Mums meet at shops, kids build independence going to local shops. Shops are a vital hub, and we must do better for modern Canberra.
I said that I would address the concept of how much it costs. Maybe, if I cannot get any action out of the government, I will have to help start a local group to organise planting some new plants at the shops and buying some paint for the shops. I do not know what the permission structure is but I really do think that in modern Canberra we can do better than health hazards and unpainted surfaces.
I will not take the full 15 minutes. I do not really need to labour the point. I think everybody knows what I am talking about. Minister Corbell knows what I am talking about. I hope that we can do better, and I would like to think that we can make a better job of increasing the vibrancy and the amenity of our local shops.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo—Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Housing, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for Ageing) (6.19): I welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues raised in Mrs Jones’ motion today because they are matters of high importance to the government—both to the Labor Party and to the Greens. I reject the notion that the government has neglected local shopping centres and I would like to spend a bit of time discussing some of the things—
Mrs Jones: Minister Corbell thinks they have been.
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