Page 1332 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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and Mr Wall proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly.
In accordance with standing order 79, Madam Speaker determined that the matter proposed by Mr Wall be submitted to the Assembly, namely:
The importance of the ACT’s rural villages.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (3.54): I am very happy to bring this matter of public importance to the Assembly today—namely, the importance of rural villages to the ACT. Canberra’s rural villages are an integral part of the bush capital, and each one of them highlights the best things about living in Canberra. Some of the villages that are part of Canberra, such as Tharwa and Hall, have been around since long before there was even the notion of a capital city here. The smaller villages of Pialligo and Oaks Estate have now become so much a part of the wider Canberra community and suburbia that we think of them more as suburbs than rural villages. The villages of Stromlo, Pierces Creek and Uriarra have, of course, taken on a whole new identity after the devastation they incurred during the 2003 bushfires, with some areas being rebuilt.
Post-2003 Uriarra village is a completely new iteration of the forestry settlement that was established in the late 1920s. It is once again a thriving community and has recently shown again just how resilient it can be. The recent success in ensuring that the large-scale solar project proposed by the current Labor-Greens government will not be built on their doorstep was a huge win for the rural village, and I am very proud to have stood by them during that fight.
Canberra’s rural villages are an important part of Canberra. On this I am sure we can all agree. However, the fact that all members of the Assembly hold our villages in high regard is not necessarily being translated into actions, nor has this regard ensured that our villages grow and flourish. In fact, some of Canberra’s rural villages have long been overlooked, and I would go so far as to say that they have been treated with disdain in some instances by the ACT Labor government and their Green colleagues.
Today I would like to put some emphasis on Tharwa village and the litany of insults and injuries residents have endured in recent and not so recent times. Tharwa has a long and proud history. I would like to take the time to read an excerpt from a document sent to me by a long-time Tharwa resident who I believe has spent the best part of his life there—Val Jeffery. He says:
Tharwa is the oldest town in the ACT with St Edmunds church approaching 105 years in 2013, the bridge 117 years old, the community hall 87, and of course the primary school well over 100 years.
The latest shot to destroy this historical community was fired by the ACT Government with the closure of the vital Tharwa Public School.
How much hurt can a community take? On top of all that, the Tharwa village was threatened with legal action over the village water supply that was installed by the community with their own initiative and funding over sixty years ago.
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