Page 1665 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 9 May 2018

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community survey. They nominated green bins as one of the services that would make a significant difference to their lives. It is still a topic that many residents continue to raise with me. I know how delighted they will be to be able to access the service in September this year.

I was very pleased yesterday to see the recommendations from the waste feasibility study that organic waste should be considered to be part of the kerbside pick-up. This is something I have been asked about regularly as well. I wholeheartedly endorse this recommendation, combined with a broader education campaign, especially when considering the amount of waste and the environmental issues that organic waste can cause if not disposed of properly. It is another way that we will be able to provide services to continue to enable a sustainable city.

Another initiative making Canberra an even greater place to live is the age-friendly suburbs program. We know that seniors have a lifetime of experience, skills and abilities to offer and plenty of capacity to improve their community. By making it easy for seniors to get around and stay involved, we are delivering benefits for our entire Canberra community.

This is a project that was initially piloted in Ainslie and Weston. As you know, Mr Assistant Speaker, it is now underway in Hughes, one of your suburbs, and Page, one of mine. I know that it is going to make a real difference to those communities. People have responded very favourably to it.

My colleagues have also talked about the nurse-led walk-in centres. As Mr Pettersson flagged, they constantly receive extremely good feedback. Since 2014 residents in my electorate have been able to access the Belconnen nurse-led walk-in centre when they have minor illnesses and injuries. I am one of those 36,000 patients every year who have made use of this service. Very soon the service will be accessible to Gungahlin and Weston Creek residents as well. These healthcare facilities will meet the rising demand for cheap, convenient and accessible health services while also reducing the pressures on the primary healthcare service.

When a city is this beautiful, vibrant and welcoming, despite the best efforts of those across the chamber, it comes as no surprise that Canberra is becoming the place to live, work and play. To meet these demands we are improving the transport network across the ACT. The new integrated public transport network will be here soon, with light rail from Gungahlin to Woden and more buses being provided more often.

The Belco bikeway is also a key part of active travel. This system will ensure that despite our rapid population growth, the ACT is kept as pollution and congestion-free as possible and caters for the active lifestyle that we enjoy while better meeting the needs of Canberrans everywhere.

Mr Assistant Speaker, the government is committed to improving—

Ms Cody: A point of order, Mr Assistant Speaker.


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