Page 438 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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community council, such as the Tuggeranong Community Council, your local festival, such as SouthFest—they all run on volunteers. Just recently there has been a call-out for a register of interest for Namadgi bushfire recovery volunteering. We support volunteers here. We respect them. We acknowledge and applaud their contribution. Our community would be a poorer place without them. I reiterate that you will get more out of volunteering than you put in.
Discussion concluded.
Adjournment
Motion (by Mr Gentleman) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Employment—Gungahlin
MR MILLIGAN (Yerrabi) (3.52): It gives me great pleasure to rise this afternoon to speak about an exciting development for the Gungahlin region. Following ongoing representations from our senator for the ACT, the Hon Zed Seselja, last week Alistair Coe and I joined Senator Zed Seselja to announce an important milestone for the town centre in Gungahlin. After advocating to bring more jobs and economic growth to Gungahlin, it was great to confirm progress on establishing an office for Defence Housing Australia. Another 300 jobs in the town centre will be significant for our retailers, cafes, newsagents and drycleaners. It will also help support our small businesses, with many law firms, accountants and real estate offices having access to potential clients.
The new office will be located in Gungahlin town centre, on the site bounded by Hibberson, Hinder, Kate Crace, and Efkarpidis Streets. The deed of agreement for lease was executed early this month, with DHA entering into a lease for a term of 15 years, to start from March 2022. Construction will start in August 2020 and the fit-out in August 2021, with practical completion to be achieved by March 2022. This phase also brings with it opportunities for greater employment and economic benefit.
After years of light rail construction and disruption, this will be a welcome addition to the town centre. With more than 22,000 households in the area, which is growing strongly, we need to focus on more jobs closer to home for the residents of Yerrabi. We know that more than 70 per cent of Canberrans drive to work. For residents of Gungahlin, this usually means driving to Civic, across to Fyshwick or Belconnen, or down to Woden or Tuggeranong. We want people to have the option of working closer to home. That way they can walk, ride or use public transport. They also get great work-life balance and less travel time. This means more time with your family and friends and to do the things you enjoy, like sport and recreation. It really is a win-win.
This is why I find the approach of this tired Labor government so frustrating. Keeping Gungahlin as a village is only holding us back and limiting the opportunities and choices for residents that are available. We can do better. That is exactly what Senator
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