Page 855 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
importance of playgrounds to the ACT community. They also highlight the changing needs of the community resulting from changing demographics, social trends and transport options, and other profound changes to the way we live. We must strike the right balance between the community’s satisfaction about existing and new playgrounds and other important city services.
In 2013 there was a $1 million investment in the Waramanga shopping precinct, an example of an important community upgrade in the region. Features of this upgrade included landscaping, upgrades to paving, new street furniture and other improvements to amenities. The government’s investment in the Waramanga shopping precinct involved an extensive consultation process, allowing the community and key stakeholders an opportunity at that stage to provide input into what features to include in the upgrade. The government continues to work with the community through a robust framework where co-funding opportunities are identified and where submissions are received to ensure that funded proposals align with the government’s priorities.
I am very proud to be the minister for city services. These services are used and appreciated by every Canberran, every day of the year. They are the foundations of a safe, accessible, healthy, fun, sustainable and liveable city.
In September last year I was pleased to launch the better suburbs initiative. This important initiative seeks community views from across all sectors of the community to determine the relative priorities with regard to the delivery of city services, including playgrounds. I remain absolutely committed to working with the broader community, and I encourage the Waramanga community to be actively involved through the better suburbs initiative. The initiative has completed an initial round of community consultation to inform a more detailed deliberative democracy process. Suggestions about improvements to playgrounds to enhance safety and encourage more use have been identified as the most popular.
The better suburbs statement, which will be the final end product of this work, is under development. It includes consideration of the need to balance flexibility to respond to emerging priorities within a city-state framework with the need for longer term planned commitments. I expect that the wider city services priorities will have measures to monitor and identify in the better suburbs statement. This includes important community assets such as play spaces. The better suburbs statement will provide a robust justification for resource allocation, notably through the annual budget process, without being prescriptive, and allow us the flexibility to respond to future changes. The statement is intended to improve the delivery of city services and balance the delivery of services between newer and older parts of our community.
Over the next couple of months I will be announcing a number of forums and workshops that the community can be engaged in for this process. This will include kitchen table conversations with a variety of stakeholders and groups, including the general public, community and business associations, community councils, residents associations, representative groups, universities and schools, and government directorates, leading up to a forum on better suburbs.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video