Page 4045 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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I’m a dad and I coach soccer and cricket with my local teams after school. To maintain my current activities three afternoons a week I will need to get to work 90 minutes earlier every day.
Another:
I have car pooled with neighbours for years, which won’t be practical next year.
Yet another:
I have walked to work every day for many years. Next year that will not be possible so I lose my walk and pay out $1,500 a year in bus fares.
Another:
My current arrangements give me a workplace close to home and family. I have medical and family commitments between and the difference in the cost of parking on my wage is huge.
And another:
The time is the biggest factor, hours of extra travel every week.
This is the impact on people who work at CSC, not taking into account the broader impact on the surrounding businesses in the town centre. While I appreciate that Cameron Offices may not be the ideal workplace for public servants I note that there is ample other office space which I would expect would be or could become fit for purpose and I call on the CSC to explain whether they have taken this into account and the enormous costs to their workers’ lives in their decision to move to the city.
Finally, there has been some concern expressed by the community about the recent announcement that Myer is closing. Again I am concerned, about the jobs at Myer and the workers attached to them, many of them Belconnen locals. However, I also note that the closure of Myer is an issue with Myer as a business and it is not a reflection of Westfield Belconnen, Belconnen town centre or the broader Canberra community or its economy. Last night the centre group shared with the Belconnen Community Council a comment on the closure of Myer which is important to put on the record tonight. And for those who do not know, the centre group manager is Westfield:
The Myer closure at Westfield Belconnen will not come into effect until mid-2019, effectively giving us two years to do what is a normal part of our business—which is to continually update our retail offer to ensure its appeal to customers. Their departure will enable us to introduce new retailers—both local and international—into our centre in 2020—allowing our offer to remain fresh and relevant.
So I think, while the closure is concerning and the community has a right to be concerned, we can be assured that the Canberra economy is still going strong and
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