Page 1524 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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this has all been outsourced to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Mr Rattenbury; therefore it seems that Mr Gentleman does not have the pulling power in the government that you would think an MLA of the Labor persuasion might have, and, in actual fact, he has to go to the extent of setting up a petition to lobby his own government.
This government only pays lip-service to the municipal services about which we receive constituent concerns on a daily basis. Whenever we are out at local shopping centres or out doorknocking or letterboxing, the response we get from the community more than 50 per cent of the time would be about traditional council services. It would be about the grass not being mowed. It would be about the footpaths not being maintained. It would be about the streetlights that have gone out. It would be about the graffiti which has not been cleaned. These are the core services that an ACT government can and should be doing. But as it stands at the moment, it is simply not a priority for this government.
The opposition welcomes the opportunity to discuss this today and we thank Ms Berry for bringing this motion to the Assembly for discussion. We hope that this motion will help to refocus the government and ensure that greater resources and greater attention are given to the look and feel of Canberra.
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) (6.11): I thank Ms Berry for moving this motion today and I certainly welcome the opportunity to speak about the ACT government’s commitment to outdoor amenities, parks and facilities and improving recreational areas. The motion provides a good opportunity to reflect on the improvements that have been made over the last few years and to promote future activities.
Canberrans certainly love their open spaces. So many families who move to our beautiful city do so because of our great open spaces, playgrounds, bike paths and ease of getting around. We have had many discussions in this place about the importance of encouraging people to get out into these parks and open spaces to encourage healthier lifestyles and, of course, encourage people to get out and play sport and have fun with their children.
As Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, my directorate is responsible for the management of open space in the territory. A core focus for TAMS is to encourage the use of open space and provide recreational activities and undertake rolling programs to upgrade facilities such as playgrounds, barbecues, skateboarding facilities, drinking fountains, tracks and trails and master plans for major district parks and, of course, dog parks.
Firstly on drinking fountains, there are currently only just over 80 operational drinking fountains in our public places across Canberra. As part of the Labor-Greens parliamentary agreement, the government will install 30 new drinking fountains in public places across Canberra. They will each be equipped with a water refill station in an effort to reduce use of disposable bottles and increase water consumption by
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