Page 3694 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MRS JONES (Molonglo) (4.11): I am pleased to add my voice today to this matter of public importance raised by my colleague Ms Lawder on the importance of urban maintenance for the people of the ACT.
The issue of urban maintenance is one that I have been very vocal about since coming into this place because it matters to people every single day. You do not have to look too far across Canberra to see how urban maintenance has been neglected. There are derelict petrol station sites, which, although I know they are not in this particular minister’s purview, are certainly a problem. They have been sitting empty for years.
There is the issue of local shops covered in graffiti that have been left neglected. There are footpaths in almost every older suburb that need some attention. Some have been allowed to become unsafe for pedestrians as they have buckled and cracked from tree roots. I accept that the minister inspects them but the problems are still there in many cases.
There is the issue of playgrounds across the city. I have spoken before about the need for them to be upgraded; they need new equipment and new paint. It is my strong preference that there be at least a few that are fully fenced, so that mums, dads and carers can go there and have an actual break.
The mowing of grassed areas across Canberra is an ongoing issue. Looking around my electorate, there are huge grassed areas that have knee-high, long, dry grass, which is a real concern as the advent of the bushfire season is upon us.
I implore the minister to take some action with regard to some specific issues around Rivett. There are mattresses and wood which have been dumped in the unmown grassed area behind the church and the Noah’s Ark children’s centre on Bangalay Crescent. There are also needles being dumped in this area.
I am particularly concerned by the state of grassed areas at the western end of Hindmarsh Drive which have not been mowed, except for a one-metre edge, in over six months. I am quite worried, as the dry summer approaches, that this western edge of Rivett and Chapman, close to houses, is becoming a very significant fire hazard as a result. I implore the minister to have the area mowed.
The government’s graffiti removal, mentioned previously by the minister, is failing all along Hindmarsh Drive. Graffiti is a very significant concern across the whole western half of Hindmarsh Drive. Fences at the rear of Duffy, Holder, Stirling, Waramanga, Weston, Lyons and Chifley are covered in graffiti. The government expects residents to clean off the graffiti at the back of their rear fences, an area they cannot control which serves a significant public amenity in the area.
I implore the minister to make changes to his government’s policy regarding this main road as it is unreasonable to expect residents to clean these areas which are beyond their control, and to manage the pedestrian parcel. It impacts on the look and feel of the area so significantly that it is mentioned to me constantly when I am in the electorate. It should be a priority for this minister and for this government to keep Hindmarsh Drive in a better condition, and it is not.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video