Page 2593 - Week 08 - Thursday, 14 August 2014
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MR DOSZPOT: Minister, why are you spending hundreds of millions of dollars on what is described as a useless, expensive, unnecessary barnacle that shows the greed and ugliness of the ALP-union-developer nexus?
MR BARR: That would be Mr Waterford’s opinion. It is not shared by the majority of Canberrans, and I am certainly not doing what he has accused me of doing. That is his view; he is entitled to hold that. Many disagree with him.
Budget—west Belconnen
MS BERRY: My question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services. Can the minister please outline what investments have been made in the suburbs of west Belconnen in the 2014-15 budget?
MR RATTENBURY: I thank Ms Berry for the question. There have obviously been a range of investments in both west Belconnen specifically and in Belconnen more generally, which is, of course, of benefit to those residents, and across a range of portfolios. I certainly take a focus from a Territory and Municipal Services perspective.
One of the key investments is the new weekend bus service to west Macgregor. I know this is something that I have received a number of representations on, and I know other members have. That service will be getting underway with a new timetable on 1 September.
We have also just had a significant tree planting take place in Dunlop. As it turns out, historically Dunlop was not provided with the usual range of street trees when the suburb was first constructed. TAMS has just gone through a process of undertaking a significant planting in the order of, I think, 400 to 500 trees across the suburb, which was consulted on with residents beforehand.
Interestingly, members may wish to know that TAMS set out to fill in all the gaps in the suburb, and some residents said they did not actually want a tree out the front of their house. In those circumstances trees were not planted. When people wonder why there are gaps, it is not because the government did not offer them; it is because the residents did not want them.
There are, of course, a range of new assets being provided as the city expands. Both Parks and City Services and Roads ACT, in particular, have funds allocated for the expansion of the city. That will cover new assets such as community paths, issues around stormwater drainage and water management as well as street lights and similar matters.
In terms of broader issues in west Belconnen, certainly funds have been allocated in the capital upgrade program for the conservation management of the Jarramlee area in Macgregor west to monitor and improve the golden sun moth and natural temperate grassland habitats. We have also seen upgrades to the recycling drop-off areas at Belconnen and west Belconnen, in particular, with continuing works at Charnwood oval and also continuing funds to upgrade work at Charnwood shops, amongst a range of other initiatives.
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