Page 3690 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 28 October 2014
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Then there are the issues of rubbish on the road sides and in parks, graffiti on signs or on fences, overgrown trees in suburbs, broken street lights and blocked drains. The issues go on and on. I certainly do not mean this as blanket criticism of the extensive work that the Minister for TAMS and his hardworking department undertake. However, it does appear that the department is facing huge challenges and obviously needs more resources. This financial year alone, the government is spending $32.7 million on light rail, and we have not even started construction. Imagine what would happen if this extra money, or even just some of it, was invested into the maintenance of our suburbs.
On 9 February 2012, the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister announced the government would inject an extra $32 million into maintaining and upgrading the urban amenity of Canberra. They went on to say that this fund would come directly from the lease variation charge. As time has gone on and the lease variation charge did not raise the funds it was intended and the budget slipped into the red, it became clear this was not going to happen.
The Chief Minister said that this fund would “provide more parks and playgrounds, more mowing, more shopping centre upgrades, better footpaths and more repairs to roads”. We know this is not happening because the lease variation charge is not raising what we need it to, but we are still spending money on light rail, and the $44.6 million the government has spent on this project to date, including this year’s amount, at least some of which could at least have been spent on urban maintenance.
In every suburb I visit someone says to me they feel like they are the forgotten suburb, which highlights the point I am making here. Urban maintenance is important to people. People appreciate being able to walk down the street without tripping on broken footpaths or drive down a road without hitting pot holes. While the government is falling behind in keeping the city maintained, people are noticing. They realise over time that it is not just their suburb which is the forgotten suburb, but that it is happening everywhere. Rates continue to increase, fees and charges continue to go up everywhere in the city, but the upkeep of our city is going backwards.
I reiterate that, generally, I receive an excellent response from the Minister for TAMS and his department when I write about a particular issue, and I thank them once again for that. But overall our level of amenity, of cleanliness, of maintenance seems to be diminishing and the work done by the TAMS Directorate is not being given priority by the government.
Community responses often take place to address urban maintenance issues, such as Keep Australia Beautiful clean-ups and other community groups doing their bit, such as the Tuggeranong Lake Carers group who are doing a clean-up around Lake Tuggeranong this weekend. Scouts and girl guides, Lions, Rotary and many other groups do their bit. This is small-scale community action at work. But in general terms, residents feel better about their fees and charges and their rates increasing if they see they are getting something more for their money or, at the very least, maintaining the status quo of services. This does not appear to be the case. Our basic services seem to be reducing despite the increased charges.
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