Page 3504 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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time in Wanniassa. Wanniassa is a fantastic suburb. The people who live there are incredibly proud of their community. They often talk of the open spaces, the large backyards I mentioned and the nearby shops.
Despite its great size as a suburb, I think Wanniassa retains a village-like feel. That is partly because so many of the individual communities have many long-term residents, people who built homes there and are still there. Unfortunately, they also speak of the poor quality of government maintenance in their suburb. Almost every person I have spoken to in Wanniassa has told me that the amenity of the suburb needs to be improved—the cracked footpaths, the potholes, the poor mowing service. When they line that up with their skyrocketing rates and fees, they just scratch their heads and wonder what is going on.
These complaints have come to the fore in recent months, with this government’s trashing of the bus network, particularly in Tuggeranong, which has led to many individuals having to walk much longer distances to get a bus. Ms Le Couteur pointed out that although this motion is very important, we could have probably come up with six or seven of them. Many residents have conveyed their irritation that they live in a forgotten part of the city. They point out that it is not just Wanniassa that lacks the most basic of local services; it is an issue that every resident of Tuggeranong has grown tired of—the broken footpaths; the poor bus services; the poor mowing service, and dare we mention the big speed hump in our town centre.
Just last week I had a conversation with Marie and Cec in Wanniassa, who specifically mentioned their expeditions and journeys to the park and ride, as described by Ms Lawder. In my day of doorknocking, Monique told me that she had trouble walking and on some days, after contemplating the difficulty of the walk to get to the Wanniassa shops, she concedes defeat and just stays at home.
These are the poor outcomes we get when basic maintenance is not undertaken. It genuinely affects the quality of people’s lives. The residents of Tuggeranong are sick of being left behind. They are sick of being treated like second-class citizens by the Barr government, and they are sick of the local Labor MLAs refusing to stand up for them. I am proud to be from Tuggeranong. I am proud to represent Tuggeranong. If you ask me, Tuggeranong is Canberra’s greatest asset. The residents of Tuggeranong deserve better and so do the residents of Wanniassa. The Barr government has increased their rates while removing their bus services and allowing their local infrastructure to fall apart.
I am pleased my colleague Ms Lawder has brought this motion to the chamber. I stand alongside her. I commend the motion to the Assembly. I implore members to support it today. I look forward to the support of all five members for Brindabella to deliver better local services for one of our great suburbs.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the content of the amendment from Mr Steel. As Ms Le Couteur said, there are some aspects of it that perhaps we would not agree on, but we are pleased to see that the “calls on” remain intact. My understanding is that we will be supporting that.
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