Page 1134 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020
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While Graeme was not the inaugural president of the Belconnen Community Council, he was present and active from its very beginnings and later served as president for many, many years. He was steadfast in his desire to hold the ACT government accountable to its promises in Belconnen, ensuring the construction of an indoor pool in Belconnen, which we now know as CISAC, and the Belconnen Arts Centre. He was particularly pleased with how Lake Ginninderra increasingly emerged as a hub of local activity and recreation.
Graeme encouraged modest development in the town centre but never at the expense of access to the lake or encroaching on its green space, particularly along the north and western shores. He argued for town centre development being tiered away from the lake, and it is.
While some people seek power and to be the centre of attention, Graeme was not one of them. His support for civic participation was genuine and he encouraged regular renewal on the BCC committee, especially in the executive positions. I and others were direct beneficiaries of his support and encouragement. After his years as president, he continued as an active committee member for as long as he possibly could. He could always be counted on to attend and his well-considered input and cooperative approach were greatly valued. As president, I always appreciated his wise counsel. (Extension of time granted.)
Graeme was a fixture in the town centre and supported local restaurants, often with a book in hand for company. He was a life member of the Belconnen Labor Club. In fact, it was so much like a second home to him that when we were finalising the BCC’s submission on the Belconnen town centre master plan, in 2015, and wanted Graeme’s input, he asked me to print the submission in hard copy and for it to be delivered not to his home but to the reception desk at the Labor Club. Not surprisingly, a key feature of our submission and ultimately the master plan is the protection of green space around the lake.
Soon after, Graeme began to withdraw from community service, with his decades-long impeccable attendance disrupted. Long after he withdrew completely, his absence was and remains very apparent. Graeme died on 18 February this year.
My thanks to Kim Fischer, Stephen Bounds, Robyn Coghlan, Brian Rynehart, Charles Thomas, Damien Haas, Matt Watts, Glen Hyde and especially Graeme’s daughter, Jodie, who, in the last few weeks, in helping me prepare this speech, have shared with me some of the pieces of who Graeme was, who he was to them, and the legacy he leaves.
I do not think we will ever know for sure just how vast Graeme’s reach and influence was. But I hope today I have given a picture of someone to whom we as a community in Belconnen owe so much. He is very greatly missed, and I extend my deepest condolences to his family and his friends. Vale.
Gungahlin—community
MR MILLIGAN (Yerrabi) (5.59): I take this moment today to recognise the strong community spirit in Gungahlin. We all know how tough 2020 has been, with the
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