Page 3456 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018
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generations of shopkeepers in many of our local shopping centres. In my local shops—or what are almost my local shops—in Farrer, things like the Fox and Bow are making local shops a destination in a way that they have not been in the past, and it is great.
Another example is one that I think everyone in the Assembly should be aware of because we have asked quite a few questions about it—that is, the Coombs shops. It is a very good example of how attitudes to local shops have turned around, and the community is wanting more of them. As I think everyone here would be aware, the Coombs shops site was sold to a developer in 2015. The developer’s DA was initially rejected, but eventually work got underway in 2016. Now, two years later, the shops are still not open.
People in Coombs and Wright are desperate for local shops. There is clearly enough demand. Coombs is already supporting a medical centre, a gym and a chemist. The nearest shops are at Cooleman Court, which is 4.6 kilometres away by road from parts of Coombs. And Cooleman Court is seriously running out of parking. You will not often find me making comments about parking stresses, but Cooleman Court clearly has them.
The frustrating thing is that there is not an awful lot the government can do to fix the situation. Minister Gentleman was asked about it in a question without notice during the last sitting period—quite recently. I think there is about another year until the government is in a situation where it can force the owner to deliver.
Another example is in Ms Lee’s electorate, in Downer. I lived in Downer for many years, and for some of that time the local shops were really struggling. Things got pretty grim, but they have turned around. There is a new cafe and some substantial renovations to the heritage-listed building. It is looking so much better, and the cafe is very full.
I could keep going regarding different shopping centres in different parts of Canberra. What I am trying to say is that most local shops are not abandoned and full of crime and decay, as Ms Lee’s motion implies. It is really not that bad.
My second concern with this motion is that implicit in it is a push for more maintenance funding for local shops. We would all like that, but the reality of the budget is that, in order to fund more maintenance for local shops, money has to be taken from somewhere else or taxes have to go up. I have talked about this trade-off several times in the Assembly, most recently in the Transport and City Services section of the appropriation debate.
I am not at all confident that, if the community in my electorate was asked what their priority for city services funding was, the answer would be more maintenance for local shops, because that is not really something that people are complaining to me about. It is just not what I am hearing.
I am hearing a number of things shopping-wise. Firstly, I am hearing that there should be a focus on upgrading our bigger centres, the Woden town centre in particular and,
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