Page 575 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 March 2014
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The matter of finding accommodation for community service providers requires some time and occasionally creative thinking as obviously not all of the ACT government assets are fit for purpose. I have been advised that the Community Services Directorate has been working with the ACT Property Group in the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate and the Education and Training Directorate to find accommodation that will best meet the needs of Gugan Gulwan.
Gugan has been offered accommodation in several alternative locations, both in Tuggeranong and outside the area. However, the accommodation that has been offered to date has not been suitable for the specific programs that they wish to provide. We had thought last year that a childcare premises would become vacant but unfortunately, in the end, the organisation running the childcare centre decided to keep the centre open as they had enough demand to operate two childcare centres. Gugan Gulwan missed out on that accommodation. I think members will appreciate that is a fairly frustrating thing. The agencies felt they had found a suitable location. I think everyone thought it was the right location, but then the tenant who was there and whom we thought was going to move out did not move out. That, of course, is disappointing for Gugan, but there is not much that can be done about that.
While there are some facilities that might be suitable for Gugan Gulwan, they would need to share these facilities. And Gugan Gulwan has advised that it would prefer to have single use of any additional space rather than co-locate with another group. Considering the breadth of programs offered and some of the young people particularly who are attending their programs and their facilities, I can quite understand that. But again, it highlights the difficulty in finding a suitable location. Locations that might have been suitable have been identified but ultimately have not been.
So I do just want to reflect the fact that whilst I share both Gugan Gulwan’s frustration and clearly Mr Wall’s frustration that we have not yet found a suitable solution, I would like the Assembly to be assured that finding additional accommodation space for Gugan Gulwan is of utmost importance to the government and we will continue to work to ensure that this happens as soon as possible.
That said, there is, as members I am sure are well aware, a great deal of demand of government for community space. Certainly I know that within government at the moment we are having discussions on ways to improve the system generally to make it clearer for community organisations how to go on the list to seek government accommodation and to try to improve the coordination between directorates. I think there is a good level of coordination, but it relies very much on individual effort at the moment. I think we can make some system improvements there. I know, between the various parts of government, there are some good discussions going on to improve that at the moment.
But as to the immediate matter of Gugan, as I say, I can assure both Mr Wall and the rest of the Assembly that this is very much on my radar. I know it is on the radar of three directorates who all are endeavouring to find a solution to this. And it is just a matter now of finding that very practical solution of our getting a space that is vacant and one that Gugan Gulwan feel is appropriate for the programs they want to offer and for the clients that are coming to their services.
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