Page 880 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 March 2016
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(b) the development of a comprehensive plan to invigorate and revive Tharwa Village and the surrounding area, including a plan to assess the existing commercial, environmental and community assets.
The motion I bring here today could have at its heart any number of suburbs, our rural communities or single issues here in the ACT. The common theme that prevails is a lack of meaningful consultation in the wake of a history of poor decision-making by successive Labor-Green coalition governments.
Tharwa village in particular has copped more than its fair share of fallout from these bad decisions. As has been said in this place before, usually by members on this side of the chamber standing for the Liberal Party, Tharwa has a long and proud history. It is the oldest township in the ACT, the gateway to the Namadgi national park and the numerous and rich array of recreational, cultural, ecological and Indigenous offerings of the region.
Over successive Labor-Green governments the view has been taken that Tharwa does not have enough residents to justify further investment or attention, therefore leaving the village to fend for itself. Poor decisions made by successive Labor governments have adversely affected Tharwa and its residents, beyond a shadow of a doubt. It has suffered a series of blows. Notwithstanding natural disasters such as the 2003 bushfires, there have been blows that could very well have been prevented if there had been any electoral value in the region to the Labor-Green governments of the time.
I refer to decisions such as the closing of the Tharwa Primary School in 2006 by the now Chief Minister, Andrew Barr. This decision struck at the very heart of this small but significant Canberra community. It fought back by waging a very strong campaign to keep the school open. Failing that, it has succeeded in keeping the preschool open and, despite being up against it, it is still continuing to see strong, solid enrolment numbers to this day.
The series of decisions that led to the protracted closure in that same year of the Tharwa bridge, the major access point to the village and region, saw the village and its residents cut off from any direct and easy access to the ACT for months at a time. This closure affected business in the region and it affected everyone associated with Tharwa.
A Tharwa village plan is currently being considered. However, some residents of the village and the surrounding district have felt left out of this consultation process, while those who have contributed have felt that the consultation process was not adequate. The planning process that is currently underway is not enough, as was evidenced by the minister’s answer in question time today when he was unable to say that he was satisfied with the level of consultation that had occurred there. If the minister does not have confidence in the process, how can the residents? The planning process that is currently underway is not enough. That is not only my view but the view of the stakeholders that are directly impacted by decisions made as a result of this sham consultation.
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