Page 2054 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 15 May 2013
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The disused Higgins petrol station site is fenced with a brown brick wall and has quite tall weeds across the dirt of the entire block. The padlocked gate on the side has been bent out of shape and the brown brick wall has a bright green and blue word graffitied on it. The site is highly visible to pedestrians and commuters along the street.
Page has a site which seems to have an approval on it to build aged-care units, but no construction has started on the site. The shadecloth covering some of the fence has been graffitied in white, and there are various grasses and shrubs growing on the site. There is a section of green cloth that seems to have been ripped and come adrift from the fence base of the gate and is flapping around. To one side of the block is a building which has three doors which open out on to this eyesore, and I imagine the owners of that property would prefer it to look on to something better maintained.
Some sections of the fence are not covered at all, and piles of weed-covered dirt are clearly visible from the road. There is a wall covered in large graffiti letters spelling something like “Hoodies are best” with the “b” of “best” double underlined and the term “IOEC FRATE” in very large bubble-like letters. The site has a lot of grass and general waste dirt in some places.
Narrabundah also has a disused petrol station site which is very visible to the main road. There are tall weeds all over the site. I understand there has been a building approval for the remediation of the site, but there is no evidence yet of construction. The site has a gaping space in the fence, meaning the public can easily access—and do—the site. Perhaps if the government made sure the fence was properly maintained and the grass cut it might set a good example to the Narrabundah tyre slasher who is still creating damage to local residents, as he or she or they have for decades.
I have been doing some research to find out what empirical scientific evidence I can offer to the government that explains what residents innately know—that is, these sites increase petty crime and leave residents feeling less comfortable with and proud of their local communities. And I have discovered the broken windows theory. This theory, well researched and well known, makes two major claims: if we clean up or eliminate sites such as our vacant petrol station sites, further petty crime and low-level antisocial behaviour will be deterred and crime will be prevented as a result.
Ms Burch yesterday acknowledged that school vandalism deeply affects schools. She said it is devastating, and I agree with her. I think a good government would put a very high priority on resolving the concern and possibly petty crime hotspots which are caused by these derelict sites. I believe the government had a scheme in the past whereby there was a special dispensation or reduction in taxation paid by developers wishing to develop the sites prior to 2010.
I understand some money was set aside in the 2011-12 budget for a program to address community concerns relating to these leases across the ACT. But I wonder why there is not a stronger emphasis on a policy to see these sites developed from the government. I am sure the good people of Canberra do not spend as much as they do on housing to raise their families in or live in during their retirement to spend their days commuting past run-down, graffiti-scrawled fences and walls.
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