Page 1056 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 5 April 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Mr Rattenbury has also suggested there will be some further technical amendments agreed after today. If this is intended to allay the fears of residents, Mr Rattenbury, it has failed. As the residents group media release also said:
Again, Mr Rattenbury is being used by Labor. We know that any technical amendment won’t cover the ground already addressed by Red Hill residents, who have simply been ignored once again. If there is no additional formal consultation on the proposed Technical Amendment, then it will be a waste of time.
Residents have many requirements for development on the site. It would be more effective for Mr Rattenbury to support the Rejection Motion, and start the process again completely from scratch. Instead, Mr Rattenbury’s influence or lack thereof on the Barr government’s desire to pander to the needs of developers, rather than the needs of residents, will be on display for the whole of the new Kurrajong electorate to see. The ACT community need to know that the Greens and Mr Rattenbury are simply pandering to the Barr government once again.
The Canberra Liberals have been very clear on what we believe is the best use for this land. My colleague Mr Coe made the Liberals’ case very clear in the Assembly on 10 March. We have not just met with the residents of Red Hill; we have listened to the residents of Red Hill. We have listened to them. We have engaged with them to better understand how good planning, development and local community can live in harmony.
We believe the RZ3 zoning we proposed meets all of the government’s development needs as well as addressing the local residents’ concerns. As has been pointed out, Madam Speaker, the residents are not anti-development, and neither are the Liberals; we simply want to make sure that the needs and the concerns of the residents are fully taken into account.
It is disappointing but not surprising, therefore, that the government have taken the action they have. By “government”, I of course include Mr Rattenbury. He cannot continue to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds. His own constituents are working that out. He has failed them in Manuka, and now he has failed them in Red Hill.
To paraphrase Melissa Bennett from the Red Hill Residents Group on ABC Radio yesterday, we have an election in October. If Mr Rattenbury does not want to listen to his constituents now or thinks he knows better than they, he will be forced to listen to them in October. The glossy brochure circulated to local Red Hill residents in the past few days patronisingly claiming that their feedback has been valuable will be to no avail.
I place on record my appreciation and recognition of the commitment of residents in the area: to Melissa Bennett, Stuart Rogers and others I say thank you for being so willing to give up your time to fight for your suburb. We can assure you that the Canberra Liberals will be with you in your fight to ensure your suburb remains just that—a suburb, not a high-rise, high-density mass of buildings.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video