Page 1171 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 28 March 2017
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There is Sailability ACT, an active member of Canberra’s sporting and disability community. Sailability welcome all people in Canberra to sail on Lake Tuggeranong. They have the facilities to teach the most basic skills as well as providing more challenges for experienced sailors. It was good to see the crew show off one of their new boats at the expo. Earlier in the year, I and some of my colleagues in the Assembly were able to go out to the launch of this new boat, have a sail and experience firsthand the great benefits of being out on the lake on a wonderful weekend afternoon.
There is the Canberra Seniors Centre, based in my electorate of Kurrajong, in Turner, which encourages healthy ageing amongst those above the age of 50. It conducts positive activities and classes. For example, today the centre held events ranging from Italian to porcelain painting and jazzercise.
These are only some of the fantastic groups I caught up with at the expo, but a common theme running through all of these organisations is that they are highly dependent on dedicated volunteers with lots of heart and a very real, strong sense of social responsibility. It is a testament to Canberrans’ willingness to fulfil their civic duty that the CAP Expo can have over 100 different organisations working for the benefit of all Canberrans. I take this opportunity to thank each and every one of those organisations and each and every one of the volunteers for everything they do for the Canberra community.
Planning—Gungahlin
MS ORR (Yerrabi) (4.26): I rise to speak about the Gungahlin town centre planning refresh that is currently being conducted by the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. As members would be aware, Gungahlin is growing rapidly and, over the coming years, the town centre will see an increase in development with the construction of light rail and the release of land for commercial and residential opportunities.
It is important that, as the town centre changes over time, the infrastructure is able to support the needs of the community. The planning refresh will review the quality of public spaces, access to the town centre, and how active travel and active living principles can be better established and facilitated in the area.
During the election campaign and since being elected, residents of Yerrabi have consistently spoken with me about planning in the Gungahlin town centre. I was very encouraged when the planning refresh was announced, as it provides residents with an opportunity for significant input into the future of our town centre and how it develops.
Building heights have long been a topic of discussion within the Yerrabi community, and in 2014 the Gungahlin Community Council undertook a survey which found that the vast majority of respondents preferred building heights of 10 storeys or less. Until recently, however, we have not had a building height limit in place and many developments taking in a range of heights, some in excess of 10 storeys, have been progressed.
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