Page 1528 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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observations around developing partnerships, I would like to canvass a few points because it is a very important issue. Canberra has a wealth of volunteers who are passionate about our parks and who work to keep our beloved common areas clean and in great shape. Many of these volunteers do their work through official volunteer organisations such as ParkCare, Landcare, Waterwatch, Frogwatch, Greening Australia or even Conservation Volunteers Australia. Some communities are lucky enough to have friendly, caring residents who love their park enough to create a community group to look after it. I know some areas in Canberra have street parties for the community in such parks.
Some volunteers contribute on an annual basis through organised events such as Clean Up Australia Day or National Tree Day, and both of those certainly have substantial school components too. Then there are the many wonderful people who simply contribute by looking after a little patch of park or unleased land that they love or by mowing a bit of unleased land adjacent to their block because they have a higher standard of lawn and they are willing to put the personal effort in, or by picking up the rubbish from time to time rather than waiting for the regular maintenance collection to come around. I really commend these people, however they want to contribute.
Canberra has more open space and urban parks per capita than most cities in Australia, so to be able to sustainably manage these areas it is extremely helpful for the community to weigh in with those extra efforts. I encourage people to continue to create local groups to look after their pocket parks. Adopting a park is one of the simplest ways for people to meet their neighbours and get involved in making their park work for them. This is the basis of great partnerships, and TAMS will continue its maintenance of parks through mowing, pruning, tree planting and maintenance, but that extra effort from the community is absolutely welcome.
In respect of the forming of those partnerships, TAMS is committed to working with the community and with community groups, particularly prior to undertaking construction works through public consultation. It is important before the works are done to make sure we build the assets the community wants. TAMS will continue as opportunities to develop working relationships to assist with ongoing maintenance and operational issues. I am encouraging the agency to explore this area because particularly with new technologies there are more and more opportunities to undertake these kinds of activities at relatively low cost and network with the community in really easy and effective ways.
In terms of future projects, the government is currently considering a range of improvements to outdoor amenities, parks and facilities across Canberra as part of the 2014-15 budget. Areas being looked at include age-friendly fitness equipment in parks, looking after our playgrounds and skate parks and more improvements to public spaces, including at local shopping centres.
The examples I have provided today confirm the government’s commitments to improving recreational facilities right across the city, whether it is the installation of new barbecues, drinking fountains, working with park care groups, the full gamut of things that people really appreciate about this city, the government is committed to
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