Page 1744 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 May 2013
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that precinct code will soon be provided for my consideration. And after that, there will be a further opportunity for community and business input into the details of the precinct plan.
As Mr Rattenbury has mentioned, there is also work being undertaken in relation to bus station facilities at Erindale. A bus station feasibility study for Erindale is currently underway to identify options to locate a rapid transit stop within the group centre, increasing bus services during the week as well as on the weekend. Once completed, this will also assist in reducing congestion and associated traffic issues being experienced by the centre.
So what is clear is that we have a detailed master plan and we are working now to implement the recommendations of it. We are moving to the next important step of implementation and we will be continuing to tackle these issues, including the issues raised by Mr Seselja today. The government will be supporting the amendments.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (4.01): I am very pleased to speak to the motion brought to us today by Mr Seselja. The issue of parking at Erindale is not a new issue to this Assembly. We have heard of the many challenges that business owners are experiencing along Gartside Street, and today we are closely looking at what can be done to help utilise the northern end of the Erindale shopping precinct, specifically the need for additional parking in the vicinity of the Capital Edge Community Church. This is an important issue, and Mr Seselja, being the effective local member he is, continues to address issues that are important to the people of Tuggeranong.
As I mentioned, this is not a new problem. Members of congregations of the churches based at Erindale, customers of local shops and patients of the medical practices have suffered the inconvenience of poor parking provisions for years and years.
Over the last six months, since being elected to this place, I have spoken on a number of occasions about the importance of addressing the real concerns of the residents of the ACT, and in particular my electorate of Brindabella, when it comes to issues relating to car parking in our local suburbs. As a candidate in the lead-up to the 2012 election, at shopping centres and whilst door-knocking, the prevailing view expressed by the many hundreds of constituents I engaged with was that the community did not feel that ACT Labor was listening to them. This result was of course confirmed by the result of the election, particularly in my neck of the woods down south, which clearly favoured a Liberal government.
Parking was at that time and continues to be one of the real concerns. The parking at Erindale in particular is at breaking point. The Canberra Liberals were of course very quick to address concerns raised by Gartside Street businesses by coming up with an immediate policy solution which would have seen parking spaces created as a matter of urgency. A Canberra Liberal-led government would have ensured that businesses and patrons did not have to wait over 20 years to see an outcome. We would have acted swiftly and efficiently, something that this government never manages to achieve.
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