Page 1623 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
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MR STEEL: I thank Mr Gupta for his supplementary. All regions of Canberra will benefit from the upgrades that we are making around our city to create jobs and improve the look and feel of the nation’s capital.
In Belconnen, John Knight Memorial Park, by Lake Ginninderra, will receive an upgraded toilet block that will be modern, safe and accessible for everyone who enjoys recreation around the lake. We are also building a new pedestrian crossing on Chandler Street in the Belconnen town centre. I know that is an issue that has been raised by Ms Cheyne on several occasions.
In Gungahlin, construction is almost finished on a new shared zone on Abena Avenue in Crace and we have built a new footpath to address a key missing link on the Palmerston cyclepath near Nudurr Drive.
Residents in Tuggeranong will also benefit, enjoying refreshes to play spaces, including at Banks, Wanniassa and Calwell. We are improving the paths and cycleways and public spaces around the shops in Gordon, and on Castley Circuit and Marconi Crescent in Kambah.
In Weston Creek, we have built 1,200 metres of new shared paths along the Cotter Road to connect Weston Creek and Molonglo through to the city. We have installed traffic calming measures on Heysen Street to make it safer for locals in the area.
In the inner north and inner south, we are completing missing footpath links in suburbs like O’Connor, Braddon, Reid, Barton, Forrest and more. All suburbs are benefiting from this uplift, as well as it helping to create jobs right around our city during the time when we need them most.
MS CODY: Minister, how many trees are being planted across the city?
MR STEEL: I thank Ms Cody for her question. As part of the ACT’s fast-track and stimulus work, we boosted our autumn planting program, planting 4,000 trees across the city in autumn alone. We will do more in spring. Unlike the Liberals, we have been doing this to create jobs. Not only have we been purchasing trees, which have been grown up at Yarralumla nursery, but we are actually putting them in the ground and putting in the infrastructure and maintenance that are required so that they can grow up and we can benefit from the tree canopy cover.
We have a target of 30 per cent tree canopy cover and we set out a pathway to achieve that in our draft urban forest strategy. We went out for consultation on that just over the last week, seeking feedback from Canberrans about how we can achieve that. To do that, we need to do a couple of things. We need to protect the trees that we have; we need to properly maintain the trees, creating jobs, helping to maintain the fantastic tree canopy that we have. Also, we need to plant new trees properly—not seedlings but actual trees in the treescape of Canberra, not out in Coree but in Canberra—so that we can all benefit. This is a significant planting, the fifth large historic tree planting that we will have in our city. We will make sure that these trees survive until maturity so that we can get the benefit from them for years to come.
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