Page 1529 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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providing them at the highest standard we can. I will be pleased to support Ms Berry’s motion today.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra) (6.26), in reply: I thank members for their comments on my motion. I thought—briefly, for about two secs—that we might have had complete support from members of the opposition, but unfortunately it went the other way. We had to keep talking about things that had happened in the past and that members of the opposition were not happy about.
I thank Mr Rattenbury for the detail that he went into in talking to this motion today. It is important to recognise members in our community that take responsibility for areas around their homes, their schools or their local parks, because it is more than just an ACT government responsibility; it is our responsibility as members of our community to take care of our open spaces and local parks.
People in the skate communities take very good care of that amenity themselves. I have seen them turning up with their brooms and dustpans to sweep out the leaves so that they can safely drop into the bowl with all their safety gear on. They take great pride in their park. I know that they will be happy to hear of the work that the ACT government is doing in making sure that they are safe and upgraded as much as possible.
With regard to the dog parks, I know that with the dog park in my area that I visit, it will be a wonderful thing to be able to exercise dogs other than by torchlight as our shadows get longer in these winter months. I know that people and their canine companions will look forward to being able to do that in their local dog parks.
I am very happy to have the support of the opposition for this motion. It is important that we look after our open spaces and parks. Whether it is my children or another family’s children visiting the CRIP at Crace, whether it is the skaters visiting the skate park in Belconnen, Woden, Tuggeranong or Kambah or whether it is dogs romping around the dog parks, these are very important facilities for our community. I know that the ACT government is keen to make sure that we upgrade these and involve members of the community in partnerships, as Mr Rattenbury outlined in his speech. They are very important for bringing the community together.
I want to go to one last point, about whether members of the government, like Mr Gentleman, should petition members of their community about issues that are important to them. I do not think there is anything wrong with that—with gauging ideas from people in the community about whether or not they want upgrades, parks or something done in their area. I do not think that is something that is totally for the opposition to do. I think it is completely fine to engage with the community through a petition or a community meeting to seek their support—
Mr Doszpot: You can consult with them, but why should you consult with them, if you know what I mean.
MS BERRY: It is not about one individual; it is about the community.
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