Page 1189 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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The government does not by any means neglect shopping centres. Maintenance and cleanliness is a priority. TAMS maintenance teams clean these areas at least twice weekly depending on their level of use, with higher-use shopping centres being cleaned daily. This occurs every day, including Christmas Day and other public holidays. Cleaning includes the removal of all litter and rubbish, spilt food, blowing leaves from the hard standing areas, car parks, shrub beds, kerbs and gutters and grassed areas.
Mrs Jones: Bird waste?
MR RATTENBURY: I am coming back to that. Rubbish bins are also emptied up to three times per week depending on their level of use, while all toilets at shopping centres are cleaned and serviced daily. Local shopping centres are inspected weekly for graffiti and any graffiti located is removed at the time of inspection. If the graffiti is offensive, options are available to remove the graffiti soon after it is reported.
Of course, there is the constraint of the public space versus the private space, and part of the problem Mrs Jones is highlighting is that local shops have many different owners across Canberra. We are talking about many, many small businesses here, and the ACT government does not own the shopping centres themselves. So this goes to the issue of graffiti removal. Although TAMS has an extensive maintenance program for local shops, unfortunately, many problems arise for which the government is not and simply cannot be responsible.
The work of TAMS goes beyond that of upgrades and maintenance work. Most recently, senior representatives of the directorate met with the Manuka traders to provide assistance to improve the shopping centre precinct. Also, when we receive complaints about specific issues, such as the avian excrement Mrs Jones has mentioned on a number of occasions on the awning at Rivett Shops, and the lights outside of shop buildings not functioning, TAMS contact the building owners to ensure that they are aware of the issue and request that they rectify the problem. But this is certainly a challenge where these problems occur on what is the private domain and where the government is limited in what it can do. You can imagine a situation where, if TAMS intervened, some would be offended or, in fact, downright angry about government interfering with private property.
In March 2010 changes were made to the Litter Act 2004 when my former colleague Caroline Le Couteur passed a bill to reduce the number of shopping trolleys that were a blight to Canberra’s urban landscape. The government has now implemented real solutions and has been proactive in providing a response after consulting with and listening to shop owners and the community. These changes to the legislation have made it an offence in the ACT to remove a trolley from a shopping centre or to use a trolley outside a shopping centre precinct. This is an example of how we have provided a viable framework for both responsible citizens and business owners in Canberra.
Since 3 January this year ACT government rangers have undertaken a blitz on abandoned shopping trolleys and issued over 225 individual shopping trolley removal
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